Search

Studies in recent years have shown that aquatic pollution by microplastics (MPs) can be considered to pose additional stress to amphibian populations. However, our knowledge of how MPs affect amphibians is very rudimentary, and even more limited is our understanding of their effects in combination with other emerging pollutants. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the possible toxicity of polyethylene MPs (PE-MPs) (alone or in combination with a mix of pollutants) on the health of Physalaemus cuvieri tadpoles. After 30 days of exposure, multiple biomarkers were measured, including morphological, biometric, and developmental indices, behavioral parameters, mutagenicity, cytotoxicity, antioxidant and cholinesterase responses, as well as the uptake and accumulation of PE-MPs in animals. Based on the results, there was no significant change in any of the parameters measured in tadpoles exposed to treatments, but induced stress was observed in tadpoles exposed to PE-MPs combined with the mixture of pollutants, reflecting significant changes in physiological and biochemical responses. Through principal component analysis (PCA) and integrated biomarker response (IBR) assessment, effects induced by pollutants in each test group were distinguished, confirming that the exposure of P. cuvieri tadpoles to the PE-MPs in combination with a mix of emerging pollutants induces an enhanced stress response, although the uptake and accumulation of PE-MPs in these animals was reduced. Thus, our study provides new insight into the danger to amphibians of MPs coexisting with other pollutants in aquatic environments.

Medication mistakes continue to be one of the most serious issues in hospitals. Such mistakes can occur during the prescription, distribution, or administration of medications. Lipid emulsions are commonly utilized in whole or partial parenteral feeding initially, Following convincing results from animal models and effective case reports in humans, the use of intravenous lipid emulsions (ILEs) as an antidote in local anesthetic systemic toxicity has acquired considerable acceptance. Although intravenous lipid emulsion (ILE) was initially employed to treat life-threatening local anesthetic (LA) toxicity, its application has broadened to cover non-LA poisoning and less severe symptoms of toxicity. However, in recent years, the function of lipid emulsions in the treatment of lipophilic chemical toxicity and overdose has been established. In addition to typical poisoning treatment, lipid emulsion therapy was employed. The observed sequence of events provides substantial support for the importance of ILE treatment in the effective management of both instances. However, further study is needed in this area to provide definite guidelines for the use of intravenous lipid emulsions in pediatric lipophilic agent poisoning. The body of data supporting the use of ILEs in acute drug intoxication is growing. The current data supports the use of ILEs only when there is an imminent threat to life from local anesthetic systemic toxicity or lipophilic cardio-toxin poisoning. Lipid emulsion therapy is a potential and less expensive alternative in cases of acute lipophilic poisoning where a specific antidote is unavailable.

Background: Intracranial aneurysms are life threatening and disabling vascular lesions. The majority of aneurysms are located at branching points along the proximal arterial tree, suggesting that haemodynamic factors play significant role in aneurysms formation. Aim: The aim of the work was to evaluate the efficacy, safety, clinical and radiological outcome of endovascular management of anterior communicating artery aneurysms. Patients and Methods: This study was a prospective study conducted on 20 patients with anterior communicating artery aneurysms at Neurosurgery Departments – Tanta University hospitals between February 2021 and April 2022. Results: Successful Endovascular treatment was achieved in 19 patients. 17 patients had good recovery (Glasgo outcome scale 5), 1 patient had moderate disability (GOS 4), no patients severely disabled (GOS 3), and 1 patient died (GOS 1). According to hunt and hess grading (5 patients before EVT), 10 patients with grade 1, 5 patients with grade 2 and 5 patients with grade 3 and all patients were with the same grading after ETV without deterioration. Conclusion: In this thesis, EVT was an effective and safe technique for treatment without any treatment related morbidity or mortality. Despite our good angiographic and clinical outcome either postoperatively or during early follow up period, still longer angiographic and clinical follow up is mandatory in all cases since initial total obliteration is not a guarantee for permanent obliteration.

Aims We aimed to assess the incremental prognostic value of positron emission tomography (PET)-derived myocardial flow reserve (MFR) among patients with diabetes and those without diabetes. Methods and results Consecutive patients with clinically indicated PET MPI for suspected or established coronary artery disease (CAD) were included. Myocardial blood flow (MBF) in mL/min/g was obtained from dynamic images at rest and stress, while MFR was calculated as the ratio of stress to rest MBF. Patients were followed from the date of PET imaging for the occurrence of the primary outcome (composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction, and un-planned percutaneous coronary intervention/coronary artery bypass graft occurring more than 90 days after imaging). The final cohort consisted of 6019 patients (63% with diabetes) (mean age 61 ± 11 years, 45% female, 55% obese, 76% hypertensive, and 62% dyslipidaemia). Over half (53%) of the patients had an impaired MFR ( Conclusion PET-derived MFR has a strong independent and incremental prognostic role in patients with diabetes and those without diabetes.

A major threat to water quality is the discharge of human-derived wastewater, which can cause waterborne illnesses associated with enteric viruses. A poor association exists between fecal indicator bacteria and virus fate in the environment, especially during wastewater treatment. In the current study, the potential of using a novel human gut bacteriophage crAssphage as a wastewater treatment process indicator was evaluated. Using qPCR, influent and effluent wastewater samples of two wastewater treatment plants were analyzed for crAssphage and human viruses including human bocavirus (HBoV), human adenovirus (HAdV), and human polyomavirus (HPyV). All samples were positive for crAssphage. The annual crAssphage concentrations varied between 1.45E + 04 and 2.39E + 08 gc/l in influent samples and from 1.25E + 04 to 7.88E + 06 gc/l in effluent samples. Human viruses concentrations were some orders of magnitude lower than that of crAssphage. Data demonstrated a significant correlation between crAssphage, HAdV, and HPyV during the wastewater treatment process, suggesting that crAssphage and human viral pathogens have similar removal mechanisms. Ultimately, this work concludes that crAssphage could be a performance indicator for viral reduction in the wastewater treatment process.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of adding biochar to the diet and litter on growth performance, gas concentration, hock burning and dermatitis in the foot pads of broilers. In the experiment, 300 One day old chicks were randomly distributed to 5 treatments 3 replicates each treatment , with (20) birds .T1: as control treatment. T2: (2) kg biochar / 100 kg feed). T3: (4 kg biochar l / 100 kg feed). T4: (2 kg biochar / 100 kg litter). T5: (4 kg biochar / 100 kg litter) . The results of the statistical analysis of the average live body weight and feed conversion factor of broilers showed a significant superiority of the treatments with added biochar to the feed compared to the treatments with added biochar to the litter and the control group. While the results for ammonia gas NH3 levels, the hock burn and footpad dermatitis suggested that the addition of biochar to the litter treatments produced the best results compared to the biochar-added diet group and the control group.

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of adding biochar to the diet and litter on growth performance and broilers the hock burn and footpad dermatitis. In the experiment, 300 One day old chicks were randomly distributed to 5 treatments 3 replicates each treatment , with (20) birds per replicate and with an average weight (39.7) g. T1: Without adding biochar in the diet and litter. T2: (2) kg of biochar / 100 kg of diet). T3: (4 kg of biochar l / 100 kg of diet). T4: (2 kg of biochar / 100 kg of litter). T5: (4 kg of biochar / 100 kg of litter) . The results of the statistical analysis of the weekly diet consumption rate indicated a significant superiority of the treatments of adding biochar to the diet over the treatments of adding biochar to the litter and the control group . While the results of relative humidity, level ammonia NH3 level indicated that adding biochar to the litter treatments recorded the best results compared to the group adding biochar to the diet and the control group. As for the results of the microbial characteristics, it was shown that the treatments of adding biochar to the diet recorded the best results compared with the group adding biochar to the litter and the control group, which recorded a decrease in the number of colon bacteria and an increase in the number of lactic acid bacteria. While the relative humidity results indicated that adding biochar to the litter treatments recorded the best results compared to the group adding biochar to the diet and the control group. The aim of this study is to evaluate biochar as a food additive and a positive stimulant of the intestinal flora in maintaining the health of the broiler digestive system. Besides, due to its absorbent properties, it can reduce the moisture content of the litter and improve the overall environment of broiler breeding halls.

To evaluate the clinical, technical, and angiographic results in endovascular management of wide-neck intracranial aneurysms (WN-IAs) using the balloon-remodeling technique.This study was a prospective, single-center study that was carried out over a period of three years from January 2019 to December 2021 at the Neuro-Interventional Unit at our hospital. Patients who presented with WNIAs and were eligible for endovascular treatment using the balloon-remodeling approach were included in the study.We included 37 patients with a mean age of 49.7 ± 12.3 years. About 91.9% of the participants had SAH, 5.4% had unruptured aneurysms, and 2.7% had intracranial hemorrhage. The mean time to treatment was 6.97 ± 7.35 days, the mean aneurysm diameter was 5.7 ± 1.7 mm, and the mean neck diameter was 3.8 ± 1.0 mm. The majority of the patients had a dom-to-neck ratio of less than 2 (89.2%). We have used hyper form balloons in 48.6%, hyper glide in 43.2%, Copernic balloons in 5.4%, and eclipse in 2.7%. According to the Raymond-Roy occlusion classification, 86.5% of the patients had complete obliteration, 10.8% had residual neck, and 2.7% had a residual aneurysm. Almost 91.9% had no complications, 2.7% had ischemia, and 5.4% had mild rupture by wire, treated by 5 min hyperinflation of the balloon till hemorrhage stopped.Balloon-assisted detachable coiling is an important option in the treatment of WN-IAs. We found that this technique allowed safe and efficient treatment of aneurysms when conventional treatment had failed due to WN. Endovascular coiling using the balloon remodeling technique of wide neck showed a high technical success rate and good short-term clinical outcomes. A good selection of patients with WN-IAs treated by endovascular coiling using balloon remodeling technique and a good selection of materials used help in decreasing the complications.

The lack of resource constraints for edge servers makes it difficult to simultaneously perform a large number of Mobile Devices’ (MDs) requests. The Mobile Network Operator (MNO) must then select how to delegate MD queries to its Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) server in order to maximize the overall benefit of admitted requests with varying latency needs. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Artificial Intelligent (AI) can increase MNO performance because of their flexibility in deployment, high mobility of UAV, and efficiency of AI algorithms. There is a trade-off between the cost incurred by the MD and the profit received by the MNO. Intelligent computing offloading to UAV-enabled MEC, on the other hand, is a promising way to bridge the gap between MDs' limited processing resources, as well as the intelligent algorithms that are utilized for computation offloading in the UAV-MEC network and the high computing demands of upcoming applications. This study looks at some of the research on the benefits of computation offloading process in the UAV-MEC network, as well as the intelligent models that are utilized for computation offloading in the UAV-MEC network. In addition, this article examines several intelligent pricing techniques in different structures in the UAV-MEC network. Finally, this work highlights some important open research issues and future research directions of Artificial Intelligent (AI) in computation offloading and applying intelligent pricing strategies in the UAV-MEC network.

Aims: To evaluate the results of staged surgical repair of proximal forms of hypospadias according to Bracka’s method using preputial or buccal grafts in the department of urology, Tanta university hospital between January 2019 and January 2022. Study Design: Prospective comparative randomized study. Place and Duration of Study: Urology department, Tanta university hospital, between January 2019 and January 2022. Methodology: Fifty male patients with severe proximal hypospadias associated with moderate to severe chordee and or poor urethral plate underwent two-stage repair with buccal mucosal or preputial graft in the department of urology, Tanta university hospital between January 2019, and January 2022 cosmetic and functional outcomes were assessed. Results: Native meatus was at proximal penile in 1, penoscrotal in 13, scrotal in 19, and perineal in 17 cases. 25 patients underwent staged hypospadias repair using preputial graft in the 1st stage and 25 patients underwent staged hypospadias repair using buccal mucosal graft. The mean age of the patients at the 1st stage was 9.5 and 8.7 months in the preputial and buccal mucosal groups respectively. The graft take was successful except only in 5 patients needed graft redo after the 1st stage. Success rate was 54.5% with preputial group and was 62% in buccal mucosal group. Conclusions: Two-stage repair with Bracka’s technique is safe and feasible for repair of primary cases of sever proximal hypospadias. Both preputial and buccal mucosal grafts are reliable and suitable urethral substitutes in staged hypospadias repair with comparable results and complications rate.

Aims Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with endothelial dysfunction. We aimed to determine the effects of prior coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the coronary microvasculature accounting for time from COVID-19, disease severity, SARS-CoV-2 variants, and in subgroups of patients with diabetes and those with no known coronary artery disease. Methods and results Cases consisted of patients with previous COVID-19 who had clinically indicated positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and were matched 1:3 on clinical and cardiovascular risk factors to controls having no prior infection. Myocardial flow reserve (MFR) was calculated as the ratio of stress to rest myocardial blood flow (MBF) in mL/min/g of the left ventricle. Comparisons between cases and controls were made for the odds and prevalence of impaired MFR (MFR < 2). We included 271 cases matched to 815 controls (mean ± SD age 65 ± 12 years, 52% men). The median (inter-quartile range) number of days between COVID-19 infection and PET imaging was 174 (58–338) days. Patients with prior COVID-19 had a statistically significant higher odds of MFR Conclusion The prevalence of impaired MFR is similar by duration of time from infection up to 1 year and SARS-CoV-2 variants, but significantly differs by severity of infection.

Looking at the evolution of mobile phones, communications technology, and the Internet, one can see a clear shift in their usage in the past decade as mobile payment has become an important research area in the field of information technology. However, many financial institutions have adopted mobile payments. Except that only a limited number of clients are used. Several information systems theories/models have been proposed to examine the factors that could influence user adoption. However, the literature on the field is still in its infancy. This paper, reviews and systematically analyzes the existing mobile payment acceptance and adoption literature that include UTAUT/TAM as a theoretical model to reveal mobile payment adoption research's current situation. The current study also provides a basis for future researchers in the mobile payment adoption study, as it provides a summary of related literature in the field, the models used, and the factors that have an impact on customer intent. Accordingly, the UTAUT, TAM models, with their extensions, are one of the models most used in examining and understanding the necessary factors that could influence mobile payment applications' adoption. The research revealed that 37 factors most commonly than a literature review on factors of adoption mobile payment applications since 2015. It was found that the factors of perceived trust and perceived risks are among the most critical factors in which the models are expanded, as they have an impact on the customer's acceptance of any new technology innovation. Therefore, emphasis must be placed on the factors of perceived trust and perceived risks to increase the applicability of UTAUT, TAM models to the mobile payment context.

Background: The aim of this study was to study the effects of body characteristics on total GFR using Gamma Camera. Methods: The data of this study was collected from 150 patients both gender referred to nuclear medicine department in Radiation and Isotopes Centre -Khartoum (RICK) - Sudan whom underwent renal scintigraphy. Results: The age and weight affected the result of total GFR in an inverse linear relationship therefore the GFR decreased linearly when age and weight increases by 0.087 ml/year and 0.06 ml/Kg respectively, while the increase of height directly increases the total GFR values linearly by 0.14 ml/cm. Conclusions: Body characteristics correlated with the amount of total GFR therefore consideration of it is impact will give an accurate assessment of total GFR.

Background: The aim of this study was to correlate the GFR using Gamma Camera with Resistive and Pulsatility Index (RI & PI) of renal artery using Doppler Ultrasound. Methods: The data of this study was collected from 150 patients both gender referred to nuclear medicine department in Radiation and Isotopes centre -Khartoum (RICK) – Sudan who underwent renal scintigraphy was performed in conjunction with Doppler ultrasound. Results: The PI showed inverse linear relationship with GFR where GFR decreases by 58 ml/ one unit of PI; similarly the RI showed an inverse linear relationship with GFR where it decreased by 141 ml per one unit of RI. Conclusions: The results of GFR using renal scintigraphy can be predicted using RI and PI index and hence the patients who needed further investigation as renal scintigraphy can be identified based on the Doppler results.

This study designed to define the role of computed tomography coronary angiography (CTA) in the diagnosis of patients with chest pain and suspected to have coronary artery disease (CAD) by measuring the calcium scoring in the coronary arteries (CAC) in patient with known diabetes and correlate the results with the (CTA) findings and other related variables. A descriptive analytical study for 84 patient with 36 diabetes and 48 patient with diabetes and hypertension examined using multi-detector computed tomography scanner MDCT64-Slice scanner (0.625 mm slices): 64 slice 0.625 mm collimation, table feed 10 mm/rotation, effective tube current 685 mAs at 120 kV. Pitch = 10/40 mm, collimation = 0.25 Average scan time = 5s, to scan the patient with coronary problems, detector array, fan beam shape, CT monitor for controlling scanning and processing. Cardiac trigger monitor with electrode leads (3000 TOSHEIBA) to monitor the heart rate, contrast injector (Medrao Toshiba-2ways) for flush contrast media to patient and VITREA SYSTYM (TOSHIBA) for diagnosis images and reconstruction and volume rendered purposes.(CAC) offers identifying the patients intended to have cardiac events, diagnosis of coronary arteries lesions and characterizing the plaque pattern .It is believable that measurements of calcium score will provide an acknowledged analytical radiological tool for the diagnoses of (CAD).

Rejecting, deleting and repeating of diagnostic radiographs are against the professional and ethical issues of the radiology departments. Repeated images of radiological examinations increase the risk of radiation exposure of the patients, wastes medical resource, and reduce the quality of services of radiology department. The aim of this study is to perform X-ray images reject analysis in radiology departments of different hospitals in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. KSA. Materials and Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the radiology department of different hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabi, KSA. A total of 100 radiographs were evaluated manually by examining all types of radiological images. The data were analyzed by using Microsoft Excel 2010 program. Results: Out of 100 random radiograph were analyzed, most frequent repeats were observed for chest (38%) chosen, it appears that chest was registered as the highest exams (37 %) while the lower extremities were (19 %), Abdomen (9%), Spine, pelvis and upper examination (8%) for each exam, Chest and abdomen (6%), Cranium and Paranasal sinuses registered as the lowest exams repeated as (4%). where the major factors contributing the causes of rejection were anatomical side marker, followed by collimation and positioning error. Conclusion: The study has shown that, the highest reject rate was for chest exams and the most frequent causes for reject are side marker and collimation and position error.

Background Serum creatinine trajectory (SCr-Tr) is a neglected prognostic tool for chronic and acute kidney injury. We aimed to assess the predictors of SCr-Tr during the time-to-nadir and serum creatinine (SCr) normalization rate after drainage, using percutaneous nephrostomy in patients with bilateral malignant ureteral obstruction. Methods A prospective non-randomized study was performed on SCr-Tr in patients with bilateral malignant ureteral obstruction from August 2019 to March 2022. The primary outcome was SCr-Tr during the time-to-nadir. Results This study included 102 patients with a mean age ± SD of 59.6 ± 14.7 years. SCr-Tr was non-linear with a mean ± SD (range) of 0.5 ± 0.4 (0.03–2.3) mg/dl/day. Multivariate analyses revealed that female gender (p = 0.016), body mass index (BMI; p = 0.005), and SCr at presentation (p p = 0.008) and low urine output at presentation (p = 0.015) were associated with a lower SCr-Tr. In contrast, laterality of drainage (p = 0.544) and mean parenchymal thickness (p = 0.066) were not associated with mean SCr-Tr. Also, only the mean parenchymal thickness (p = 0.002) was a predictor of rapid SCr-Tr at ≥ 0.5 mg/dl/day. However, low BMI (p = 0.023) was associated with a high SCr normalization rate, while unilateral drainage (p = 0.045) was associated with a lower rate. Conclusions Female gender, low BMI, and SCr at presentation were predictors of rapid SCr-Tr during the time-to-nadir. Bilateral drainage was an independent predictor of SCr normalization rate, but not of rapid SCr-Tr. The mean parenchymal thickness was the only independent predictor for rapid SCr-Tr at ≥ 0.5 mg/dl/day.

Background Biotin-thiamine-responsive basal ganglia disease (BTRBGD) is a rare treatable autosomal recessive neurometabolic disorder characterized by progressive encephalopathy that eventually leads to severe disability and death if not treated with biotin and thiamine. BTRBGD is caused by mutations in the SLC19A3 gene on chromosome 2q36.6, encoding human thiamine transporter 2 (hTHTR2). Episodes of BTRBGD are often triggered by febrile illness. Case report The patient was 2 years 10 months old male child presented with fever and progressive acute encephalopathy associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus infection. MRI revealed bilateral symmetrical high signal involving both basal ganglia and medial thalami which is swollen with central necrosis, initially diagnosed as acute necrotizing encephalomyelitis with increased severity. Genetic analysis revealed BTRBGD. Conclusion BTRBGD requires high index of suspicion in any patient presenting with acute encephalopathy, characteristic MRI findings (that are difficult to differentiate from necrotizing encephalopathy), regardless of the existence of a proven viral infection.

Acute chest pain is a common presentation in patients with COVID-19. Although noninvasive cardiac imaging modalities continue to be important cornerstones of management, the pandemic has brought forth difficult and unprecedented challenges in the provision of timely care while ensuring the safety of patients and providers. Clinical practice has adapted to these challenges, with several recommendations and societal guidelines emerging on the appropriate use of imaging modalities. In this review, we summarize the current evidence base on the use of noninvasive cardiac imaging modalities in COVID-19 patients with acute chest pain, with a focus on acute coronary syndromes.

Background: The strength of association between preoperative natriuretic peptide levels and adverse outcomes after cardiac surgery recently has been studied in different research, but results still are diversely variable. Methods: Sixty-five consecutive patients undergoing elective off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting prospectively were recruited. Preoperative levels of NTproBNP were measured in venous blood samples collected before induction of anesthesia. Results: The average age was 57.62 ± 7.21. Of the patients, 86.15% were male. Euro-scoreII averaged 1.76 ± 0.34. The mean preoperative NTproBNP levels were 312.41 ± 329.93 pg/mL. Only two patients died (3%). Three patients required prolonged mechanical ventilation (4.6%). Four patients (6%) suffered from new onset postoperative AF. Five patients (7.6%) had low cardiac output, of which three needed IABP, and four patients (6%) had postoperative myocardial infarction. The mean ICU stay was 3.37 ± 0.84 days, and the mean hospital stay was 6.38 ± 1.3 days. There were no significant differences in preoperative NTproBNP levels in patients who had or didn’t have any of the postoperative complications or in-hospital mortality (P > .05). Conclusion: Our study showed no significant correlation between preoperative NTproBNP levels and postoperative low cardiac output, atrial fibrillation, postoperative myocardial infarction, length of ICU stay, prolonged mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay as well as in-hospital mortality following elective off-pump CABG. Therefore, more prospective specific studies are needed to delineate the role of preoperative natriuretic peptides as significant predictors of poor outcomes after CABG surgery.

PVC is a type of thermoplastic material which affected by heat due to the presence of chlorine and which is not used alone but with addition of additives such as stabilizers, plasticizers, fillers and others according to the required properties of the desired product based in suitable formulations. In this work many experiments were carried out to evaluate the additives and the type of PVC used on the formulation in cables application. The first experiments were to vary the amount of filler (calcium carbonate) and that ingredients such as PVC K67 resin, lubricant (stearic acid), stabilizer (tri-base lead sulfate), and plasticizer (Dioctyl phthalate) were constant in the formulation and then samples were tested for density, hardness, tensile strength, and sample burn test to determine the content of fillers or plasticizers. The results of the density test showed that it was 23.91wt% of the filler and in the hardness test, the plasticizers used were estimated at 52.61wt%. The tensile test results were 10.6 wt% of filler when the plasticizer value was 60wt% or 20wt% of filler with 65wt% of plasticizer weight. And it turned out that the unknown sample used PVC and high molecular weight such as pvck70-72 and not Pvck67 which we used in all experiments and the result of burning the sample gave 21.9% of the ash which is a filler. In the second experiments, the stabilizer was changed and the rest of the components were considered fixed, and the result was that the weight of the stabilizer was less than the lowest value used in the experiments 6wt% and finally. The study concluded that the sample used high molecular weight PVC, the filler percentage was 20wt%-23.9wt%, and the plasticizer was 52.61wt%-65.7wt%. This study shows that the proportions of the components of the PVC formulation can be estimated by studying the effect of fillers and heat stabilizers by using mechanical tests.

Manganese neurotoxicity has been reported to cause a neurodegenerative disease known as parkinsonism. Previous reports have shown that the expression of the KH-type splicing regulatory protein (KHSRP), a nucleic acid-binding protein, and NLRP3 is increased upon Mn exposure. However, the relation between these two during Mn toxicity has not been fully deduced. The mouse neuroblastoma (N2a) and SD rats are treated with LPS and MnCl2 to evaluate the expression of KHSRP and NLRP3. Further, the effect of the NLRP3 inhibitor MCC950 is checked on the expression of NLRP3, KHSRP and pro-inflammatory markers (TNFα, IL-18 and IL-1β) as well as the caspase-1 enzyme. Our results demonstrated an increment in NLRP3 and KHSRP expression post-MnCl2 exposure in N2a cells and rat brain, while on the other hand with LPS exposure only NLRP3 expression levels were elevated and KHSRP was found to be unaffected. An increased expression of KHSRP, NLRP3, pro-inflammatory markers and the caspase-1 enzyme was observed to be inhibited with MCC950 treatment in MnCl2-exposed cells and rats. Manganese exposure induces NLRP3 and KHSRP expression to induce neuroinflammation, suggesting a correlation between both which functions in toxicity-related pathways. Furthermore, MCC950 treatment reversed the role of KHSRP from anti-inflammatory to pro-inflammatory.

Background: Non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular diseases are becoming an important part of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) care. Echocardiography is a useful non-invasive tool to assess for cardiac disease and different echocardiographic abnormalities have been seen previously. Available evidence on the echocardiographic abnormalities in Ethiopia is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the echocardiographic abnormalities in HIV infected patients and factors associated with the findings.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 285 patients with HIV infection including collection of clinical and echocardiographic data. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between echocardiographic abnormalities and associated factors with variables with a p-value of < 0.05 in the multivariate model considered statistically significant.Results: Diastolic dysfunction was the most common abnormality seen in 30.1% of the participants followed by regional wall motion abnormality (22.2%), left ventricular hypertrophy (10.3%), enlarged left atrium (8.1%), pulmonary hypertension (3.5%) and pericardial effusion (2.1%). Almost all patients had normal left ventricle systolic function. Diastolic dysfunction was independently associated with increasing age, elevated blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy while regional wall motion abnormality was associated with male gender, increasing age and abnormal fasting blood glucose. Left ventricular hypertrophy was associated with increasing age and blood pressure and the later was associated with left atrial enlargement. The level of immunosuppression did not affect echocardiography findings. Conclusions: A high prevalence of echocardiographic abnormalities was found and included diastolic dysfunction, regional wall motion abnormality, left ventricular hypertrophy and left atrial enlargement. Male gender, age above 50 years, elevated blood pressure and elevated fasting blood glucose were associated with echocardiographic abnormalities. Appropriate screening and treatment of echocardiographic abnormalities is needed.

We evaluated whether serum beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) can identify adequate suppression of the left ventricle (LV) among patients undergoing [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ([18F]-FDG PET) for cardiac inflammatory/infectious studies.Consecutive patients who underwent [18F]-FDG PET imaging were included. Serum BHB levels were measured in all patients on the day of imaging prior to injecting [18F]-FDG. Myocardial [18F]-FDG suppression was defined if [18F]-FDG uptake in the walls of myocardium, measured using standardized uptake values (SUV), was lower than the blood pool. The optimal threshold of BHB to identify myocardial suppression was based on receiver operating characteristics (ROC) in a random 30% sample of the study population (derivation cohort) and tested in the remaining 70% of sample (validation cohort).A total of 256 images from 220 patients were included. Patients with sufficient LV suppression had significantly higher BHB levels compared to those with non-suppressed myocardium (median (IQR) BHB 0.6 (0.3-0.8) vs. 0.2 (0.2-0.3) mmol/l, p 0.001, respectively). BHB level ≥ 0.335 mmol/l had a sensitivity of 84.90% and a specificity of 92.60% to identify adequate LV suppression in the validation cohort. All patients (100%) with BHB ≥ 0.41 mmol/l had adequate myocardial suppression compared to 29.63% of patients with BHB ≤ 0.20 mmol/l.Serum BHB level can be used at the point of care to identify sufficient LV suppression in patients undergoing [18F]-FDG PET cardiac inflammatory/infectious studies. Central illustration (image to the right) shows representative cases of patient images and BHB and, in the image to the left, shows the sensitivity and specificity to identify left myocardial suppression using BHB in validation group.

Background: Supracondylar humeral fracture is a very common pediatric trauma disorder. It is very common between four and eleven years, more in boys than girls and left side affected more than right one. Major cases are extension type, which is sub classified according to Garteland classification by severity diagnosed radiologically through plain x-rays. Displaced fractures usually need fixation to avoid functional and cosmetic complications.Aim of the Work: This systematic review of literature and meta-analysis is conducted to compare between two methods of closed pinning of Gartland’s III supra-condylar humeral fractures comparing lateral entry wires and crossed wires according to ulnar nerve injury and post-operative clinical and radiological outcomes.Patient and Method: Recent after 2000 clinical trials or cluster trials, prospective and retrospective comparative cohort studies. Search results will be uploaded to systematic review management software and manually screened for eligibility to be included. PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) flowchart will be introduced on the search results.Data Sources: Medline databases (PubMed, Medscape, Science Direct. EMF-Portal) and all materials available in the Internet till 2020.Results: Closed reduction and per-cutaneous pinning, of supracondylar humeral fractures in children by lateral only and crossed medial and lateral wires result in similar construct stability and functional outcome, and there was significant difference between the two managements as for the complications of ulnar nerve injury which is higher in crossed pinning.Conclusion: Lateral pinning with proper technique for sake of safety and to minimize risk of ulnar nerve injury in addition to adequate stability if proper pin fixation principles are used.

The term "media globalization" came as an extension of the vision of the famous Canadian communications (Marshall McLuhan) to transform the world into a global village, and that the idea appeared to be media, but it branched out to include the various aspects of life, warning of colonialism of a new type adopts American culture occupies the mind and conscience through which the objectives and interests of the invading state. The researcher was able to determine the objectives of the research through some of the questions: 1. Since American culture holds 65% of the world's information material, does not it have the right to dominate the whole world? Especially since its content contains the American values and principles that they always "broadcast" such as freedom and human rights. 2. Has globalization "American" media turned into itself? 3. Why do advocates of "American" media globalization want to be in one direction? 4. Why are the advocates of globalization, "American" media spying on the Internet and locking websites? 5 - How to achieve globalization, "America" and America raise the slogan of either be with us or against us? 6. How has the modern Turkish national media been able to counter the global media offensive against Turkish national development? 7. Is it not the right of the peoples of the Arab Spring revolutions to have media that protects their societies - from their and most reluctant governments first - and secondly from the media "American" globalization that tries to use those achievements for subversive purposes? The researcher chose the descriptive approach in the survey studies, based on the personal observation and follow-up of the materials and programs of many media in different Arab and Islamic countries, it turns out that globalization or "America" carries a culture (Western American) invade the cultures of other societies, A new colonial orientation

In the modern poultry industry, newly hatched chicks are unavoidably transported from the hatching to the rearing foster. Stress caused by multiple physical and psychological stressors during transportation is particularly harmful to the liver. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) possesses multiple benefits against hepatic metabolic disorders. Given that transport stress could disturb hepatic glucolipid metabolism and the role of APS in metabolic regulation, we speculated that APS could antagonize transport stress-induced disorder of hepatic glucolipid metabolism. Firstly, newly hatched chicks were transported for 0, 2, 4, and 8 h, respectively. Subsequently, to further investigate the effects of APS on transport stress-induced hepatic glucolipid metabolism disturbance, chicks were pretreated with water or APS and then subjected to transport treatment. Our study suggested that APS could relieve transport stress-induced lipid deposition in liver. Meanwhile, transport stress also induced disturbances in glucose metabolism, reflected by augmented mRNA expression of key molecules in gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis. Surprisingly, APS could simultaneously alleviate these alterations via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α)/Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)/AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. Moreover, APS treatment regulated the level of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), thereby alleviating transport stress-induced alterations of VLDL synthesis, cholesterol metabolism, lipid oxidation, synthesis, and transport-related molecules. These findings indicated that APS could prevent the potential against transport stress-induced hepatic glucolipid metabolism disorders via PGC-1α/SIRT1/AMPK/PPARα/PPARγ signaling system.In the modern poultry industry, newly hatched chicks are unavoidably transported from the hatching to the rearing foster. During transportation, chicks are frequently subjected to various physical and psychological stressors, which can lead to alterations in blood composition, hormones, metabolites, enzymes, and behavior. These alterations adversely affect animal health and welfare. Stress caused by transportation is especially harmful to liver, which can cause significant effects on liver function, and disturb hepatic lipid metabolism and glucose metabolic. The current study demonstrated that Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) possesses multiple benefits against hepatic metabolic disorders. Administration of APS to chicks before transport could prevent transport-induced stress and hepatic glucolipid metabolism disorders.

This research study will endeavour, in principle, to make a significant contribution to the field of zakat management. It basically aims at suggesting a unique approach that would be practical and effective in managing the zakat sector through blockchain technology. The paper additionally deals with several current challenges encountered in the adopted approaches of managing zakat in Muslim societies; including, inter alia, inefficiency, lack of transparency in terms of fund collection, managing and distribution. In the meantime, it is hoped that blockchain technology would be adoptable effectively to address such relevant problems in a transparent and immutable manner in effect. This article will basically adopt the qualitative and data collection method. Main data will be collected through articles and dissertations because related data mainly exists in the articles and thesis rather than books. This study assumes certain fiqhi (Islamic jurisprudence) issues of using blockchain for managing zakat distribution such as establishing full-possession or tamlīk (Ownership), transporting zakat funds, and transferring zakat funds directly without ruler or government interference. The findings of this paper indicate that providing a novel method, which would contribute to reducing routine procedures and playing an effective role to put an end to the administrative and financial inefficiencies that have paralysed zakat institutions. The main significant aspect of this research will be establishing an active Technological Department for the purpose of serving charitable projects and reconstructing the trust between groups managing zakat and donors.

Stylistic analysis implies analyzing a poem from the linguistic as well as critical point of view. While the former leads to a better understanding of the devices used and the construction of the poem, the latter enables one to look at the poem from a critical angle. Together, one gets a complete and comprehensive picture of the poem. In stylistics, it is possible to look at a poem from the point of view of graphology, morphology, phonology and lexico-syntactic level. In this paper, the poem “the Snake’ by D. H. Lawrence has been analysed stylistically. It helps the reader to notice the unique features of the poem that may be otherwise missed and leads to a better understanding of the poem.

Objectives: To determine the influence of caffeine on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of pioglitazone (PIO) in diabetic rats. Methods: This was a preclinical study conducted in the College of Pharmacy, Najran University, Saudi Arabia, using 5 groups of Wistar rats: normal rats, untreated diabetic rats, diabetic rats + caffeine (20 mg/kg), diabetic rats + PIO (10 mg/kg), and diabetic rats + PIO (10 mg/kg) + caffeine (20 mg/kg). The drugs were administered for 14 days, and fasting plasma glucose concentrations were determined on the first day, and thereafter at weekly intervals. On day 14, rat sacrifice was followed with assay of levels of biomarkers. To estimate the pharmacokinetic parameters, the diabetic animals were assigned to 2 groups: one group received PIO (10 mg/kg), while the other received PIO + caffeine (20 mg/kg). Blood samples were drawn from the retro-orbital plexus at different time intervals, and pharmacokinetic parameters were measured using high performance liquid chromatography. Results: Caffeine caused statistically marked increases in area under the curve, Cmax, Tmax, and half-life of PIO, and decreased clearance. Combination of PIO and caffeine produced a synergistic effect on percentage reduction in blood glucose, with 67.1% reductions observed on day 7 and 68.9% reductions observed on day 14. Liver and cardiac biomarkers were significantly decreased, suggesting cardioprotective and hepatoprotective effects. Conclusion: Co-administration of PIO with caffeine enhances its antidiabetic effect, probably due to enhanced bioavailability of PIO, leading to clinical benefits in diabetic patients.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of syphilis sero-positivity among blood donors, as well as the interaction between syphilis and age as well as demographic details. Methods: In North Darfur State, Western Sudan, a retrospective analysis of consecutive blood donation records from January to December 2018 was implemented. The quantitative descriptive is computed using percentages. Chi-square was used to analyze trends, and the p-value was used to determine the statistical significance of the parameter. Results: There were 4969 men between the ages of 15 to 55 who were eligible to donate blood, were screened for syphilis, 646 (13.0% ) had biomarker evidence of syphilis, while the rest (87%) were negative. A strong association has been reported between residential and biomarker evidence of syphilis infection in the study (P = 0.001). The occurrence of transfusion-transmissible infections was disproportionate to age (P = 0.63).As compared to the other age groups, the (15-25) and (26-35) year age groups has a higher prevalence: 243 (4.8%) and 276 (5.5%) were positive, accordingly. Conclusion: There seems to be an increasing proportion of sero-positive VDRL in blood donations in North Darfur State. An association between syphilis infection and residency was realized, as well as a high prevalence within a particular age demographic without a statistically meaningful correlation.

Water pollution is a challenging problem facing the human beings. In order to get treated water and wastewater, many techniques were proposed such as floatation, coagulation, ion exchange, biological treatment, adsorption, membrane etc. Among these methods, adsorption technique has proved to be an effective and low cost manner for the removal of inorganic pollutants (i.e heavy metals), synthetic dyes and organic pollutants (i.e phenols, methylene blue, methyl orange, benzene …) from polluted water. This review summarizes the most used adsorbents such as Activated Carbon (AC), nanomaterials, natural adsorbents, industrial by-products, agricultural wastes and bio-sorbents and their performance, cost and regeneration studies. This review also discusses the mechanism of adsorption, kinetics and isotherms used in adsorption process. The effect of binary and ternary systems of ions was also discussed. The difference between batch mood and continuous flow mood (packed bed column studies) and the parameters considered in each type were also investigated. Future recommendations and trends were finally proposed to enhance the adsorption process from all aspects.

The vitelline circulation connects the fetus and yolk sac in the first few weeks of fetal development. Its components are the vitelline duct, vitelline arteries and vitelline vein. This gradually breaks down as the placenta grows and overtakes the function of yolk sac as the primary nutrition source. In the event of persistence of these structures, multiple anatomical anomalies can arise such as a Meckel´s diverticulum, fibrous bands and others. We report on a rare finding of an ileal-mesenteric fibrous band remnant of a vitelline artery causing small bowel obstruction in an adult female. Our patient, a 40-year-old female presented with both clinical and radiological signs of small bowel obstruction. She had had no previous abdominal surgery or abdominal trauma. Intraoperatively we found an isolated ileal-mesenteric fibrous band situated at approximately 7 cm from the ileocecal junction. It spanned from the antimesenteric border of the terminal ileum to the border of the mesentery at a 15 cm breadth. In the snare-like loop that was created, part of the small bowel was trapped, creating a strangulated internal hernia which presented as a small bowel obstruction. The fibrous band was transected and the viable small bowel was freed during a laparotomy procedure. The post-operative period was uneventful and the patient was discharged on day 5. A fibrous band should be considered one of the rare causes of small bowel obstruction in a virgin abdomen in adults.

Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (FDG PET/CT) can be used to identify and localize infection in patients with vascular graft infections (VGI). We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT by defining thresholds for standardized uptake value (SUV) and tissue-to-background ratio (TBR) that would accurately identify the presence of vascular graft infection.Patients with suspected VGI were prospectively recruited and underwent 18F-FDG PET/CT scans. Diagnosis was based on clinical, laboratory and radiologic findings, and blinded to the results of the PET/CT scan. Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was done to determine optimal thresholds for SUV and TBR.Our final cohort consisted of 28 patients with suspected VGI (mean ± SD age 67 ± 10 years, 61% men), of which 15 patients (54%) had definitive VGI. The cohort included 61% prosthetics grafts and 39% stent-grafts. The type of graft included in this study were biologic (4%), Dacron (64%) and Polytetrafluoroethylene (32%). The location of the implanted grafts was aortic (54%) and peripheral arterial reconstruction (46%). The location of the peripheral graft was 77% in lower extremity and 23% in the upper extremity (arterio-venous grafts for dialysis access). Using ROC analysis, SUV max of 4.5, SUV mean of 3.7, and a TBR of 1.6 gave the best balance between sensitivity and specificity (93%/92%, 100%/92% and 93%/92%, respectively). All thresholds had an area under the curve ≥0.93 and correct reclassification rate ≥93%.Our data suggests that FDG PET/CT can be used to reliably and accurately diagnose VGI. The dual anatomic-physiologic information from FDG PET/CT can complement clinical diagnosis particularly in uncertain cases.

Background: Over the past 35 years, catheter-based intervention has become the dominant form of coronary revascularization. Percutaneous coronary interventions are increasingly performed. The most important advance in the field of percutaneous coronary interventions was the introduction of coronary stent implantation in the 1990s, which led to reductions in incidence of restenosis. The use of multi–slice CT is gaining increasing acceptance for noninvasive cardiac imaging. Recent years with the new emerging machines have demonstrated successful application of multi–slice CT angiography for the noninvasive assessment of coronary artery disease and the evaluation of coronary artery stents.Aim of the Work: To evaluate the role of 128-slice, dual-source CT coronary angiography as a novel technique in assessment of coronary artery in-stent restenosis. Patients and Methods: This study included forty patients withprior coronary artery stent implantation. The mean age of the included patients was 58 with an age range between 40 and 73 years. A total of 42 coronary artery stents deployed within 40 patients were included in this study; and assessed by MSCT angiography and they underwent invasive coronary angiography as a gold standard for evaluation of the coronary artery stents. Results: In an overall view, MSCT angiography compared to the invasive coronary angiography as a gold standard technique gave us a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of about 83.8 %, an accuracy of about 87.1%, positive predective value (PPV) is 61.5% and negative predective value (NPV) is 100% in the assessment of the patency ofthe coronary artery stents, taking into consideration proper standard CT angiography techniques in all cases.Conclusion: Our study helps to identify factors that influence the assessability of coronary artery stents by 128-slice dual source CT scanner, namely, stent type and diameter. It shows that under certain conditions, the detection of in-stent restenosis might be possible with an accuracy that could permit clinical applications, but the nonassessable stents do not allow the use of MSCT coronary angiography in unselected patients with implanted stents in coronary arteries. So that MSCT angiography as a noninvasive technique can be used for assessment of in-stent restenosis but patients must becarefully selected.

To assess the incremental prognostic role of coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and exercise capacity (EC), two independent prognostic tests in the assessment of patients with coronary artery disease.The cohort consisted of patients who had clinically indicated exercise stress testing and CACS assessment from January 1, 2015, to September 30, 2021, with a median of 27 days between each other. Exercise capacity was defined by peak metabolic equivalents of task (METs) achieved during exercise stress test. The CACS was determined by the Agatston method. Patients were observed from the latest test date to incident major adverse cardiac events (inclusive of all-cause death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, late revascularization, and admission for heart failure).There were a` total of 1932 patients in the study population (mean age, 56±12 years; 42% female, 48% hypertension, 21% diabetes, 48% dyslipidemia). Peak METs below 6 was achieved in 8% of patients, and the median (interquartile range) CACS was 9 (0-203). In multivariable Cox regression models, both CACS (1 unit increase in log CACS: hazard ratio, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.06 to 1.34; P=.003;) and EC (1 unit increase in peak METs: hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.81 to 0.97; P=.01) were independently associated with outcomes. Using CACS+EC added incremental prognostic value over clinical and fitness models (C index increase from 0.68 to 0.75; P=.015). Incident event rates increased across categories of CACS and EC.Our analysis found that CACS and EC have complementary risk-stratifying roles in coronary artery disease.