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Background: The deleterious impact of arsenic (As) contaminated groundwater on human health has been reported worldwide. Epidemiological studies have identified adverse association of arsenic exposure with the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Telomere dysfunction is emerging as an important factor underlying the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular complications. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of arsenic exposure on human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene expression and telomere length in arsenic-exposed cardiovascular disease patients of Bangladesh. Methods: A total of 53 CVD patients from known As-affected and unaffected areas of Bangladesh and subjected to open heart surgery were recruited. Nail samples were collected and analysed for arsenic content as a biomarker of chronic exposure. RNA and DNA extracted from blood samples were used for hTERT expression analysis and telomere length measurement respectively, using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: The patients from known As-affected areas (As-exposed patients group) showed approximately 9.7 fold higher expression of hTERT gene and approximately 1.4 fold higher telomere length than the patients from known As-unaffected areas (As-unexposed patients group). We found significant association of both hTERT expression (r= 0.407, p= 0.001) and telomere length (r=0.437, p=0.003) with as concentration in nail samples. Of the total study population, the coronary artery disease (CAD) patients in particular showed approximately 3.4 fold higher expression of hTERT gene and approximately 1.5 fold higher telomere length than the non-CAD patients group. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that chronic arsenic exposure is positively associated with increased hTERT expression and telomere length in As-exposed CVD patients of Bangladesh and that this association in turn can influence the cardiovascular outcomes of prolonged arsenic exposure. We also suggest that Asinduced CVD possibly adopts a mechanism that is different from that of As-independent CVD. Findings of this study will pave the way to unfold the mechanism behind As-induced CVD through more in-depth research. Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2022; 48(1): 56-63

In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, technology is advancing at a pace much faster than what individuals, societies and nations can cope with. Internet of Things (IoT) is one such technology that is sweeping the economic, business and service landscapes with its disruption mechanisms that influence areas such as smart homes, hospitals, cities, as well as transportation and energy utilization with many exciting and novel applications. Additionally, the job market is evolving at a rate that makes it difficult for universities to sustain a stable programme structure, especially in engineering and information and communication technology disciplines as well as specializations and domains associated with technology. While several universities worldwide have established IoT degree programs at bachelor and master levels, institutions in developing countries are still contemplating the idea of pioneering such venture due to a number of reasons related to technology vacillation as well as market and social acceptance. Princess Sumaya University for Technology has therefore designed a bachelor degree programme on IoT Engineering in order to bridge the gap in the Jordanian ICT market and to meet demands for specialized engineers in this rapidly evolving area. The university adapted an optimization design process of the program including a cycle of consultation with stakeholders, followed by a formal procedure of rectification and accreditation. The proposed program was successfully a launched at the beginning of the academic year 2021/2022 with an intake cohort of 50 students.

Infections with defined Herpesviruses, such as Pseudorabies virus (PRV) and Varicella zoster virus (VZV) can cause neuropathic itch, referred to as “mad itch” in multiple species. The underlying mechanisms involved in neuropathic “mad itch” are poorly understood. Here, we show that PRV infections hijack the RNA helicase DDX3X in sensory neurons to facilitate anterograde transport of the virus along axons. PRV induces re-localization of DDX3X from the cell body to the axons which ultimately leads to death of the infected sensory neurons. Inducible genetic ablation ofDdx3xin sensory neurons results in neuronal death and “mad itch” in mice. This neuropathic “mad itch” is propagated through activation of the opioid system making the animals “addicted to itch”. Moreover, we show that PRV co-opts and diverts T cell development in the thymus via a sensory neuron-IL-6-hypothalamus-corticosterone stress pathway. Our data reveal how PRV, through regulation of DDX3X in sensory neurons, travels along axons and triggers neuropathic itch and immune deviations to initiate pathophysiological programs which facilitate its spread to enhance infectivity.

The Arabic language is the language of eloquence, and God Almighty has honored it with the revelation of the Qur'an on the methods of its people in discourse. And when the Qur'an was revealed, it witnessed the peak of maturity that made it fit to challenge the eloquent Arabs with a hadith like the Qur'an. The Arabs were unable to come up with fluent words that were similar to the Qur'an. The language of the Qur'an being challenged was extremely graceful, the most incapable of rhetoric, astonishing the listeners, and capturing minds and hearts as if it were magic because it is eloquent. For this reason, we aspired to reveal one of the methods of the Great Qur'an that came by the methods of the Arabs in eloquence and speech, which is where the singular noun contradicts what preceded it in the systems in syntax. As if it was alone in the systems. This method was called (the exception to the exclusion), and it is a broad method used by the Arabs in their speech, with the name ``Al-nasb for exclusion,'' sometimes ``by Al-nasb depending on praise and slander,'' and sometimes ``by Al-nasb by specialization.'' The reason for cutting the adjective from the descriptive is due to a special rhetorical reason in which the new meaning is performed more strongly, and is represented in showing praise, slander, or mercy by specifying the word from the context and not following it in an expression similar to it in the style of attention used by the Arabs, to alert the mind of the listener and activate it for the speech delivered. When the Arabs focus on praise and vilification, they want to single out the praised and the blameworthy to specialize in them. If the Arab wants to draw attention to what he wants of praise, slander, or mercy, he goes against what is accustomed to the common and familiar ways of expression, so he cuts the adjective from the participle, and does not follow it in the expression. The solution to the research problem is summarized by questions, including, What is the purpose of (Al-nasb) on (Al-qate')? Is it a style of the Arabs accustomed to the speech? What are the meanings that came from (Al-qate')? How can we deal with the opinions that say this way is wrong? Why were some Qur'anic words chosen in particular? What are the rhetorical cases for this method? The study required that the research be divided into four sections, preceded by an introduction and followed by a conclusion, in which we followed the inductive-analytical method. As for the sources, books on language, grammar, and meanings had the largest share, in addition to books on the interpretation of the Qur'an. Keywords: (Al-nasb) on (Al-qate'), accusative based on praise and slander, accusative based on mistake, indication of expression, indication of context, rhetorical methods

The purpose of a reputation system is to hold the users of a distributed application accountable for their behavior. The reputation of a user is computed as an aggregate of the feedback provided by fellow users in the system. Truthful feedback is clearly a prerequisite for computing a reputation score that accurately represents the behavior of a user. However, it has been observed that users can hesitate in providing truthful feedback because, for example, of fear of retaliation. Privacy-preserving reputation systems enable users to provide feedback in a private and thus uninhibited manner. In this survey, we propose analysis frameworks for privacy-preserving reputation systems. We use these analysis frameworks to review and compare the existing approaches. Emphasis is placed on blockchain-based systems as they are a recent significant development in the area. Blockchain-based privacy-preserving reputation systems have properties, such as trustlessness, transparency, and immutability, which prior systems do not have. Our analysis provides several insights and directions for future research. These include leveraging blockchain to its full potential in order to develop truly trustless systems, to achieve some important security properties, and to include defenses against common attacks that have so far not been addressed by most current systems.

Introduction. This study aimed to determine if thromboelastography (TEG) is associated with reduced blood product use and surgical re-intervention following cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) compared to traditional coagulation tests. Methods. A retrospective review was conducted of 698 patients who underwent CPB at a tertiary-care, community-based, university-affiliated hospital from February 16, 2014 – February 16, 2015 (Period I) and May 16, 2015 - May 16, 2016 (Period II). Traditional coagulation tests guided transfusion during Period I and TEG guided transfusion during Period II. Intraoperative and postoperative administration blood products (red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelets, and cryoprecipitate), reoperation for hemorrhage or graft occlusion, duration of mechanical ventilation, hospital length of stay and mortality were recorded. Results. Use of a TEG-directed algorithm was associated with a 13.5% absolute reduction in percentage of patients requiring blood products intraoperatively (48.2% vs. 34.7%, p

Background: Prior studies have found a reduced risk of dementia of any etiology following influenza vaccination in selected populations, including veterans and patients with serious chronic health conditions. However, the effect of influenza vaccination on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk in a general cohort of older US adults has not been characterized. Objective: To compare the risk of incident AD between patients with and without prior influenza vaccination in a large US claims database. Methods: Deidentified claims data spanning September 1, 2009 through August 31, 2019 were used. Eligible patients were free of dementia during the 6-year look-back period and≥65 years old by the start of follow-up. Propensity-score matching (PSM) was used to create flu-vaccinated and flu-unvaccinated cohorts with similar baseline demographics, medication usage, and comorbidities. Relative risk (RR) and absolute risk reduction (ARR) were estimated to assess the effect of influenza vaccination on AD risk during the 4-year follow-up. Results: From the unmatched sample of eligible patients (n = 2,356,479), PSM produced a sample of 935,887 flu–vaccinated-unvaccinated matched pairs. The matched sample was 73.7 (SD, 8.7) years of age and 56.9% female, with median follow-up of 46 (IQR, 29–48) months; 5.1% (n = 47,889) of the flu-vaccinated patients and 8.5% (n = 79,630) of the flu-unvaccinated patients developed AD during follow-up. The RR was 0.60 (95% CI, 0.59–0.61) and ARR was 0.034 (95% CI, 0.033–0.035), corresponding to a number needed to treat of 29.4. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that influenza vaccination is associated with reduced AD risk in a nationwide sample of US adults aged 65 and older.

Purpose Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-induced hepatitis belongs to the frequently occurring immune-related adverse events (irAEs), particularly with the combination therapy involving ipilimumab and nivolumab. However, predisposing factors predicting the occurrence of ICI-induced hepatitis are barely known. We investigated the association of preexisting autoantibodies in the development of ICI-induced hepatitis in a prospective cohort of cancer patients. Methods Data from a prospective biomarker cohort comprising melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients were used to analyze the incidence of ICI-induced hepatitis, putatively associated factors, and outcome. Results 40 patients with melanoma and 91 patients with NSCLC received ICI between July 2016 and May 2019. 11 patients developed ICI-induced hepatitis (8.4%). Prior to treatment, 45.5% of patients in the hepatitis cohort and 43.8% of the control cohort showed elevated titers of autoantibodies commonly associated with autoimmune liver diseases (p = 0.82). We found two nominally significant associations between the occurrence of ICI-induced hepatitis and HLA alleles associated with autoimmune liver diseases among NSCLC patients. Of note, significantly more patients with ICI-induced hepatitis developed additional irAEs in other organs (p = 0.0001). Neither overall nor progression-free survival was affected in the hepatitis group. Conclusion We found nominally significant associations of ICI-induced hepatitis with two HLA alleles. ICI-induced hepatitis showed no correlation with liver-specific autoantibodies, but frequently co-occurred with irAEs affecting other organs. Unlike other irAEs, ICI-induced hepatitis is not associated with a better prognosis.

Background: Acute kidney injury is an abrupt or rapid decline in renal filtration function. Objective: The study aimed to identify the incidence and analyze the risk factors (age and sex) for acute kidney injury development in patients of emergency and surgical intensive care units. Patients and Methods: This study was carried out at emergency and surgical intensive care units of Zagazig University Hospitals over a period of 6 months. Data collection were1: Peak of serum creatinine level. 2: Peak of decreased urine output. 3: At the peak of AKI: AKIN (Acute Kidney Injury Network) score. Results: Incidence of AKI in patients with normal kidney functions at admission and without history of any previous renal problems equal 7.015% according to AKIN score. Conclusion: our results reported that incidence rate of developing AKI in patients of emergency and postoperative critical care units along the period of 6 months according to the inclusion criteria and AKIN score is 7.015 %. Age and sex weren’t risk factors for AKI.

Theories of semantic memory based on neuropsychological findings have posited a distinction between stored semantic representations and the mechanisms used to access and manipulate them (e.g., Lambon Ralph, Jefferies, Patterson, & Rogers, 2017; Warrington & Cipolotti, 1996). The most recent instantiation of this view, the controlled semantic cognition theory (Lambon Ralph et al., 2017), is supported by findings suggesting that multimodal (i.e., both verbal and nonverbal) semantic deficits may result from qualitatively different impairments: on the one hand, damage to a semantic access mechanism related to executive control, which is observed in semantic aphasia (SA), and on the other, damage to semantic representations, which is observed in semantic dementia (SD) (Jefferies & Lambon Ralph, 2006). In this study we compared SA and SD patients on several phenomena previously used to support these distinctions. Contrary to the prior results, we found that (1) overall, cross-task consistency was equivalent for the two groups; (2) neither patient group showed consistency driven by item identity across different semantic tasks; (3) correlations among task performance were not obviously driven by the semantic control demands of different tasks; (4) both groups showed executive function deficits; and (5) both groups showed strong effects of distractor interference in a synonym judgment task. Furthermore, we investigated the components of executive ability that could underlie semantic control deficits by correlating performance on updating, shifting, and inhibition tasks with performance on tasks testing semantic abilities. We found that updating was related to semantic processing generally, whereas shifting and inhibition were not. These results also suggest that complex executive function tasks relate to semantic tasks through their shared relationship with language abilities. Overall, evidence from SA and SD patients does not differentiate representations and access mechanisms in the semantic system, as has previously been suggested. Implications for the storage-access distinction are discussed.

There is growing evidence for neuronal hyperexcitability in Alzheimer’s disease. Hyperexcitability is associated with an increase in epileptiform activity and the disruption of inhibitory activity of interneurons. Interneurons fire at a high rate and are frequently associated with high-frequency oscillations in the gamma frequency band (30–150 Hz). It is unclear how hyperexcitability affects the organization of functional brain networks. A sample of 63 amnestic mild cognitive impairment patients underwent a magnetoencephalography resting-state recording with eyes closed. Twenty (31.75%) mild cognitive impairment patients had epileptiform activity. A cluster-based analysis of the magnetoencephalography functional connectivity revealed a region within the right temporal cortex whose global connectivity in the gamma frequency band was significantly reduced in patients with epileptiform activity relative to those without epileptiform activity. A subsequent seed-based analysis showed that this was largely due to weaker gamma band connectivity of this region with ipsilateral frontal and medial regions, and the upper precuneus area. In addition, this reduced functional connectivity was associated with higher grey matter atrophy across several cortical regions in the patients with epileptiform activity. These functional network disruptions and changes in brain physiology and morphology have important clinical implications as they may contribute to cognitive decline in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.