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Bacterial resistance towards the use of synthetic drugs has created a havoc in the modern era of health sciences. Medicinal plants may pave the way for alternative source of medicines that can overcome bacterial resistance. In this regard, employing three different extraction procedure (Maceration, Decoction and Soxhlet) aqueous extract of Moringa oleifera and Azadirachta indica were prepared and observed for bacterial inhibition and antioxidant properties. Phytochemical screening results revealed the presence of phenols, flavonoids, reducing sugars and saponins. Percentage scavenging activity primarily DPPH assay shows Moringa oleifera Soxhlet 6th (MOS 6th) with the highest percentage scavenging activity. Similarly, total flavonoid content estimation results rendered Moringa oleifera Decoction (MOD) as the highest flavonoid containing sample (68.97 ± 0.9) mg RUE/ml. Antibacterial efficiency of the extracts was monitored against Streptococcus mutans (gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (E. Coli) DH5 (gram-negative) bacteria, 96-well microtiter two-fold dilution reveals lowest MIC of 625 μg ml–1 for Neem soxhlet 6th cycle (NS 6th) against Streptococcus mutans while Moringa oliefera soxhelt 2nd cycle shows a low toxicity pattern (MIC 5000 μg ml–1). However, only three extract (Neem Soxhlet 2nd cycle, Moringa oleifera Soxhlet 2nd cycle and Neem Soxhlet 6th cycle) shows inhibitory potential against E. coli. Furthermore, zone of inhibition acquired via agar-well diffusion assay well corroborates with the results of 96-well pate. Based on extraction procedure, Soxhlet method establishes a good toxicity profile against the studied organism.

Background and Aim: Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) are the most significant pathogens of avian mycoplasmosis. This study aimed to isolate and identify MG and MS from chickens and detect the various virulence genes in the isolates. Moreover, the efficacies of different antibiotics were tested to identify suitable treatment regimens. Materials and Methods: We isolated MG and MS from 487 chicken samples of different ages located in different Governorates in Egypt using conventional isolation methods. The isolates were characterized by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and then tested for antibiotic sensitivity by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. Results: The prevalence of MG among the isolates was 9.85%, with the highest percentage isolated from air sacs, while the prevalence of MS among the isolates was 1.6%. Moreover, the highest levels of the prevalence of both MG and MS were during the winter and autumn sampling, while the lowest levels were in the summer and spring. Following the 16S rRNA-based detection of Mycoplasma isolates, 14 MG and 5 MS isolates were identified by different PCR-based detection methods for various virulence genes. Nine MG isolates contain the mgc2 gene, six MG isolates contain the gapA gene, and three MS isolates contain the vlhA gene. We validated a duplex PCR method for the simultaneous identification of MG and MS, based on 100% of the MG and MS isolates generating common bands at 55 and 17 kDa, respectively. The MIC method identified tiamulin and spiramycin as the antibiotics of choice for the treatment of MG and MS infections, respectively. Conclusion: For more precise diagnosis of Mycoplasma infections in chicken flocks, conventional isolation methods must be confirmed by PCR. SDS-PAGE analysis helps in epidemiological studies and vaccine preparation. The MIC method can be used to help develop therapies to control avian mycoplasmosis infections.

Background: Liver is common site of metastasis. Small liver masses (

This paper extends an earlier work on designing a speech recognition system based on Hidden Markov Model (HMM) classification technique of using visual modality in addition to audio modality[1]. Improved off traditional HMM-based Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) accuracy is achieved by implementing a technique using either RNN-based or CNN-based approach. This research is intending to deliver two contributions: The first contribution is the methodology of choosing the visual features by comparing different visual features extraction methods like Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT), blocked DCT, and Histograms of Oriented Gradients with Local Binary Patterns (HOG+LBP), and applying different dimension reduction techniques like Principal Component Analysis (PCA), auto-encoder, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), t-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) to find the most effective features vector size. Then the obtained visual features are early integrated with the audio features obtained by using Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs) and feed the combined audio-visual feature vector to the classification process. The second contribution of this research is the methodology of developing the classification process using deep learning by comparing different Deep Neural Network (DNN) architectures like Bidirectional Long-Short Term Memory (BiLSTM) and Convolution Neural Network (CNN) with the traditional HMM. The proposed model is evaluated on two multi-speakers AV-ASR datasets named AVletters and GRID with different SNR. The model performs speaker-independent experiments in AVlettter dataset and speaker-dependent in GRID dataset.

Saxitoxins (STXs) are carbamate alkaloid neurotoxins produced by some species of cyanobacteria. They are water soluble and relatively stable the natural environment, and thereby represent a risk to animal and human health through a long-time exposure. STXs cannot be sufficiently removed by conventional water treatment methods. Therefore, this study investigates the potential STX biodegradation by bacteria as a promising method for toxin removal. STX biodegradation experiments were conducted using Bacillus flexus SSZ01 strain in batch cultures. The results revealed that SSZ01 strain grew well and rapidly degraded STX, with no lag phase observed. STX biodegradation by SSZ01 strain was initial-toxin-concentration–dependent. The highest degradation rate (10µg STX L-1 day-1) was obtained at the highest initial toxin concentrations (50µg L-1) and the lowest (0.06µg STX L-1 day-1) was recorded at the lowest initial concentration (0.5µg L-1). STX biodegradation rate increased with temperature, with highest occurred at 30 ºC. This rate was also influenced by pH, with highest obtained at pH8 and lowest at higher and lower pH values. HPLC chromatograms showed that STX biodegradation peak is corresponding to the least SXT analogue (disulfated sulfocarbamoyl-C1 variant). The Artemia-based toxicity assay revealed that this degradation byproduct was nontoxic. This suggests the potential application of this bacterial strain in slow sand filters for cyanotoxin removal in water treatment plants. Being nontoxic, this byproduct needs to be assayed for its therapeutic effects towards neurodegenerative diseases.

Background: COVID-19 vaccines were made available to the public by the end of 2020. However, little is known about COVID-19 booster dose (CBD) vaccine perception among healthcare workers (HCW) worldwide. The present study aims to assess the perception of CBD vaccines among healthcare workers in India and Saudi Arabia (SA). Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among HCWs in two countries, India and SA. Data were gathered through the use of a self-administered questionnaire. A convenience sampling technique was utilized to collect the data. Results: A total of 833 HCW responses were collected from the two countries, with 530 participants from India and 303 participants from SA responding to the questionnaire. Among them, 16% from India and 33% from SA were unwilling to take a CBD (p < 0.005). The primary reasons for not being willing were concerns about whether the vaccine would be effective (32%) and concerns about probable long-term side effects (31%). Concerns about not knowing enough about the vaccination (30%) and the possibility of long-term side effects (28%) were the primary concerns in SA. Regression analysis showed that males, urban residents, and post-graduates were more willing to take the CBD. Conclusion: There is a good perception of CBD and some hesitancy in receiving the booster dose among HCWs in both countries. The introduction of personalized education, risk communication, and deliberate policy could help to reduce the number of people who are unwilling to take a booster shot.

Given that about 40% of the total food produced globally is lost or wasted, there is an urgent need to understand what, where, why and how much food waste is generated. In this study, we collected the much-needed primary empirical data from the restaurants, hotels and caterers of Lahore, Pakistan through surveys and live tracking/diaries. Specifically, two key performance indicators, waste per customer (g) and percentage waste per day (%), were measured. Waste per customer was found to be 79.9 g (survey) and 73.4 g (live tracking) for restaurants, 138.4 g for hotels and 140.0 g for caterers. Similarly, the percentage of waste per day (%) was found to be 15% (survey) and 17% (live tracking) for restaurants. Results revealed that customer plate leftovers were reported to be the primary source of food waste, followed by inaccurate customer forecasting. Given the food waste levels identified in this study, the development and adoption of a national goal and target aimed at food waste reduction could usefully guide the efforts of all stakeholders. To achieve this, we need to build the capacity of all the relevant stakeholders on food loss and waste measurements and ensure national food waste reporting.

Background: People in the Appalachian region of KY face serious and unique health challenges influenced by socioeconomic status, rural location, and culture. Diabetes prevalence in the Appalachian region of KY is known to be consistently higher when compared to national and state-wide rates. Objectives: Determine the prevalence trend of diabetes in the Appalachian Region of KY in the last five years and compare it with the prevalence rate in Non-Appalachian KY. Identify potential factors that influence higher diabetes prevalence in the Appalachian region of KY. Methods: We obtained data from the 2016-2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) , a cross-sectional telephone survey of U.S. residents, to collect data on health-related risk behaviors, chronic health conditions, and use of preventive services. Prevalence of diabetes in the United States, KY, Appalachian KY, and Non-Appalachian KY was obtained and plotted on a graph. Data on baseline variables such as gender, age, education level, annual household income, body mass index (BMI) , smoking status, and health insurance was also obtained. Results: In comparison to the United States (10.5-10.9%) , the prevalence rate of diabetes was higher in KY (12.8-13.7 %) throughout 2016-2020. Diabetes prevalence was even higher in Appalachian KY (15.8-17.2%) compared to Non-Appalachian KY (11.2 -12.5%) . This gap in diabetes prevalence rate has persisted over the last 5 years. A cross tabulation analysis of socioeconomic variables identified higher diabetes prevalence among adults aged 50-64 years, education level less than high school, and annual income less than $25000 in Appalachian vs. Non-Appalachian KY. Conclusion: This study highlights the persisting high prevalence of diabetes in Appalachian KY, compared to Non- Appalachian KY. Overall, adults with diabetes in the Appalachian Region of KY have lower education and lower annual household income. Efforts that focus on addressing the most significant differences between the Appalachian and Non-Appalachian regions of KY can help decrease the prevalence of diabetes in this region. Disclosure R. Raj: None. B. Sadek: None. M. Seetha: None. M. Hashem: None. L. Kannan: None. J. Boulay: None.

Survival analysis is a statistical tool for predicting the period until an event such as death or disease diagnosis. It requires the availability of censored data demonstrating that the event of interest did not occur during the study period. The model faces issues of overfitting if it has more features than data. However, not all elements are necessary for addressing the problem, and incorporating non-essential aspects might occasionally degrade learning performance. As a result, constructing an accurate survival model using electronic health records is difficult. With this rationale, a hybrid approach for high-dimensional survival analysis is developed. First, labeled (Alzheimer’s Disease) and unlabeled (Normal Cognitive) instances are used to offer better representation with lower dimensions from clinical features, and then we actively train the survival model by labeling the censored data. The effectiveness of this strategy was evaluated using a c-index study. The results show that our method outperforms baseline models by a wide margin.

Present work studied the impact of different doses of polystyrene (PS) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics (MPs) on rice plants (Oryza sativa L.). Seven different treatments of PS and PVC MPs viz. D

Sesame (

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) as an adjunctive treatment to topical antiviral therapy for the treatment of children having herpetic gingivostomatitis.45 individuals (age group 12-18 years) with herpetic gingivostomatitis (HG) were divided into three groups on the basis of provision of treatment. (a) Group A: topical anti-viral therapy (TAT) (n = 14, mean age = 17.0 years) (b) Group B: antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) (n = 15, mean age =17.7 years) and (c) Group C: topical anti-viral therapy + adjunctive aPDT (n = 16, mean age = 18.0 years) respectively. Pain scores [visual analogue scale (VAS) and McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ)] were assessed and HSV-1 was quantified. ENZYME LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY (ELISA) was used to compute the pro-inflammatory cytokine including interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). The analysis of the mean values and inter group comparisons were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney test. The Friedman test was used to establish the comparison of the changes observed in HSV quantification, pain scores, and pro-inflammatory cytokines. ANOVA tests were employed for the quantification of differences observed at follow-ups. The assessments for the clinical trial were done at baseline, immediate after post-op, two, and four weeks, and three and six months respectively.According to the analysis of the data obtained after the clinical assessment, the three groups reported a decrease in the pain scores, HSV-1 quantification and levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, Group C (TAT + aPDT) reported improvement in the observed parameters which was statistically significant in comparison to Group A (TAT) and Group B (aPDT) respectively.Antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) in conjunction with topical antiviral therapy (TAT) helped in reducing the pain scores and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in herpetic gingivostomatitis among children.

Drought stress is an inevitable factor that disturbs the production of plants by altering morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular functions. Breeding for drought tolerance requires a complete understanding of the molecular factors controlling stress-responsive pathways. The plant responds to drought stress by adopting four mechanisms: avoidance, escape, tolerance, and recovery. Traditional plant-breeding tools have been employed to increase tolerance in cotton, but the complexity of drought tolerance has limited the use of these breeding methods. The plant adopts several key strategies against drought stress, such as activating the signaling network and activating molecular factors. Cotton breeders have been engaged in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance in cotton using significant molecular tools such as quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, transcription factor (TFs) analysis, transcriptome analysis, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genetic engineering, and CRISPR/Cas9. Breeders have studied the functional description of genes and the interacting pathways accountable for controlling drought tolerance in cotton. Hundreds of genes/QTL have been identified, and many have been cloned for drought tolerance in cotton; however, a complete understanding of these traits still needs more study. This review presents a detailed overview of molecular tools, their application for improving drought tolerance in cotton, and their prospects. This review will help future researchers to conduct further studies to develop drought-tolerant cotton genotypes that can thrive under conditions of water scarcity.

Salt stress is one of the leading threats to crop growth and productivity across the globe. Salt stress induces serious alterations in plant physiological, metabolic, biochemical functioning and it also disturbs antioxidant activities, cellular membranes, photosynthetic performance, nutrient uptake and plant water uptake and resulting in a significant reduction in growth and production. The application of osmoprotectants is considered as an important strategy to induce salt tolerance in plants. Trehalose (Tre) has emerged an excellent osmolyte to induce salinity tolerance and it got considerable attention in recent times. Under salinity stress, Tre helps to maintain the membrane integrity, and improves plant water relations, nutrient uptake and reduces the electrolyte leakage and lipid per-oxidation. Tre also improves gas exchange characteristics, protects the photosynthetic apparatus from salinity induced oxidative damages and brings ultra-structure changes in the plant body to induce salinity tolerance. Moreover, Tre also improves antioxidant activities and expression of stress responsive proteins and genes and confers salt tolerance in plants. Additionally, Tre is also involved in signaling association with signaling molecules and phytohormones and resultantly improved the plant performance under salt stress. Thus, it is interesting to understand the role of Tre in mediating the salinity tolerance in plants. Therefore, in this review we have summarized the different physiological and molecular roles of Tre to induce salt tolerance in plants. Moreover, we have also provided the information on Tre cross-talk with various osmolytes and hormones, and its role in stress responsive genes and antioxidant activities. Lastly, we also shed light on research gaps that need to be addressed in future studies. Therefore, this review will help the scientists to learn more about the Tre in changing climate conditions and it will also provide new insights to insights that could be used to develop salinity tolerance in plants.

Heavy metal (HM) contamination of the soil through anthropogenic activities influences the living systems and drastically impacts food chain. This study examined the application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in two genotypes (G1 and G2) of Mung bean (Vigna radiata) for ameliorating the Pb toxicity. Different doses of Pb (0, 25, 50 μM) were differentially tackled by AgNPs with the aim of ameliorating the plant attributes. Both genotypes displayed statistically significant quantitative and qualitative modulations for Pb tolerance. In G2, the most prominent increase in plant height (43.79%), fresh biomass (49.56%) and total chlorophyll (20%) was observed at L2 (AgNPs 10 mg/L) in comparison with the control. Overall, photosynthetic rate was increased by 26% in G2 at L6 (AgNPs 25 mg/L + Pb 25 μM). In addition, the results presented 78.5% increase in water use efficiency of G2 while G1 experienced a maximum internal CO

This study describes the ability of a yeast strain, Aureobasidium pullulans KKUY0701 isolated from eutrophic lake to eliminate Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii and cylindrospermopsin (CYN) toxin. The anti-cyanobacterial activity of this yeast strain was evaluated by growing with living cells and filtrate of C. raciborskii. CYN bioremoval was assayed using living and heat-inactivated yeast cells. Both Living cells and filtrate of this yeast strain were able to suppress the growth of C. raciborskii, with total cell death occurring at day 2 and day 3, respectively. Living and inactivated yeast cells, but not yeast filtrate, reduced CYN concentrations released into cyanobacterial cultures, indicating that this toxin might be removed from the culture medium via absorption onto yeast surface rather than enzymatic biodegradation. The adsorption experiments also confirmed the elimination of CYN by living and heat-inactivated yeast. Nevertheless, inactivated yeast exhibited higher capacity (K = 3.3) and intensity (n = 1.4) than living yeast (K = 1.9, n = 1) for CYN adsorption. The study suggests that this yeast strain could be employed for bioremediation of Cylindrospermopsis blooms in freshwaters. Additionally, heat-inactivated yeast biomass could be used in slow sand filters for elimination of CYN in drinking water treatment plants.

Introduction Postoperative surgical hypoparathyroidism (PoSH) following thyroid surgery is well known complication. Several predictive factors have been identified including perioperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) levels. The aim of the study is to determine how a drop in perioperative parathyroid hormone (PTH) compares to postoperative day one PTH in predicting hypocalcaemia. Methods Medical records of consecutive patients who had either total or completion thyroidectomy with or without central neck dissection between January 2016 and December 2018 in a single thyroid surgery unit were accessed to retrieve data on demographics, pathology, surgery, perioperative biochemistry and management. Results Of 295 included patients, there were 227 (76.9%) females. Forty-five (15.3%) had completion thyroidectomy, while the rest had total thyroidectomy. Seventy-eight (26.4%) had concomitant central neck dissection. 64 (21.7%) had day 1 hypocalcaemia and this was persistent at six months in 31 patients (10.5%). Both day one PTH and drop in PTH predicted day one hypocalcaemia (P Conclusion Day 1 PTH is equivalent to (if not better than) drop in PTH in predicting short and long term PoSH. Preoperative PTH measurements are therefore not needed in detection and/or management of PoSH after thyroid surgery.

Rust, induced by the fungus

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using sewage sludge (SS) biosolids as a low-cost soil fertilizer to improve soil characteristics and crop yields. Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) plants were grown in soil supplemented with different concentrations of SS (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g/kg). The results showed that SS soil application led to improved soil quality with a 93% increase of organic matter (at SS dose of 10 g/kg), decreased pH (a reduction from 8.38 to 7.34), and enhanced macro- and micro- nutrient contents. The levels of all the investigated heavy metals (HMs; Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the postharvest SS-amended soil were within the prescribed safe limits. The application of SS to soil considerably enhanced the growth parameters of okra plants. Total biomass increased 13-fold and absolute growth rate increased 10-fold compared to plants grown in nonamended (control) soils. Among the applied SS doses, the 10 g/kg SS dose led to the highest values of the measured growth parameters, compared to those of plants grown in control soils. The induced growth at 10 g/kg SS was accompanied by a substantial increase in metal content in roots, stems, leaves, and fruits; however, all levels remained within safe limits. Consequently, the data presented in this study suggest that SS could be used as a sustainable organic fertilizer, also serving as an ecofriendly method of SS recycling.

The study aimed at monitoring the effect of long storage of the daily-used spices under varying humidity on the development of mycotoxins and their producing fungi. The spices samples were analyzed for mycotoxins and their potential producing fungi. The results showed that Aspergillus, Eurotium, Fusarium, and Penicillium were the most frequent genera on spices. Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. niveus, Eurotium chevalieri, Fusarium oxysporum, F. verticillioides, Penicillium cyclopium, and P. waksmanii were detected as potential mycotoxin-producing fungi. The results exhibited the contamination of spices with aflatoxin B1 and G1, zearalenone, citrinin, and sterigmatocystin in high concentration (66.45µg/Kg, 12.64µg/Kg, 0.064µg/Kg, 0.065µg/Kg, and 0.065µg/Kg, respectively). The results proved that time were a key factor in development of fungi and their mycotoxins. After six months of storage under high RH% (75-80%), the total count of fungi was increased dramatically in some spices like as dill (9.1 x 104 CFU/ g) and sumac (23.16 x 102 CFU/g). However, in the other spices, storage under moderate (50-55%) or natural humidity (10-45%) encouraged the development of fungi more than under high humidity %. The study recommends consumers to use dry fresh spices and not store them for more than two months.

The tomatoes grown under greenhouse conditions require supplemental bee pollination for the better fruit set. The present study was conducted to evaluate the optimized role of bumblebees (Bombus terrestris L.) for tomato pollination under greenhouse conditions. The impact of increasing number of floral visits (i.e. 1 to 5) on physical and biochemical properties of tomato was studied on tomato variety ‘Grande’ grown on an area of 500 m2. The self-pollination and hand vibration treatments were maintained for the comparison. The foraging behavior in terms of colony traffic, stay time and visitation rate was also studied. The maximum average outgoing bumblebees (7.38 individuals) were recorded at 10:00 while the maximum average incoming (6.75) were recorded at 2:00 pm. The three visits of bumblebees on a single flower resulted in the maximum improvement in physical (higher fruit length, fruit weight, fruit weight, number of seeds per fruit, weight of 100 seeds) and biochemical properties (vitamin C, shelf life) as compared to hand vibration and self-pollination treatments. There was no improvement in physical and biochemical properties in fourth or fifth visit. Bumble bee pollinated fruits had low TSS, pH and postharvest weight loss than that of self-pollinated and hand vibrated treatments. Therefore, three visits of bumblebees per flower are enough to get the optimum production of tomato under greenhouse conditions.

The aim of our current research is to analyze the socio – linguistic aspects such as (age, gender, place, time, race, proper names, food names, moral and educational values) in the translation of Dominiga's novel by the Spanish writer Gonthaloa Torrenta Payster (1999). The translator's way of conveying those values to readers of young ages and youth. In this analysis, we have relied on the classification of the humanities and English translation, Andrew Chesterman. This classification includes sixteen variables, and each of these variables has a default value that has been classified into 4 groups which are (balance variables, language variables, translator variables and finally structural frame variables for the translated text). We raise several questions, including: - What are the considerations that the translator should take into account when translating for children and youth? - What knowledge and sciences must a translator possess in order to convey the main idea of the original text to readers of young ages and youth? - Is it possible for anyone with sufficient linguistic knowledge to translate a work directed at children and youth, or does he need to be familiar with the psychological, mental and social aspects of this category of readers? Each society has its own customs, traditions, ideas and beliefs that distinguish it from other societies. Here , the translating must take into account these aspects when translating any literary work from one language to another , especially if this work is intended for children , adolescents and youth , due to the importance and danger of these age stages and their impact on the formation of the personality of the child and young person , and directing it towards the right direction and avoiding all stories and novels that carry ideas that contradict the concepts and beliefs of the society in which the young reader lives . Therefore, the researcher wants to present through this research information, observations, analysis and strategies that the translator used when translating these aspects, and whether he used the correct method in translation or not.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative brain ailment that affects millions worldwide. It is the most common form of dementia. Patients with an early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease have a strong chance of preventing additional brain damage by halting nerve cell death. At the same time, it begins to progress several years before any symptoms appear. The variety of data is the biggest problem encountered during diagnosis. Neurological examination, brain imaging, and often asked questions from his connected closed relatives are the three forms of data that a neurologist or geriatrics employs to diagnose patients. One of the biggest questions which need answering is the choice of a convenient feature. The main objective of this paper is to help neurologists or geriatricians diagnose patient conditions. It proposes a new hybrid model for features extracted from medical data. It discusses AD's early diagnosis and progression for all features considered in the diagnosis and their complex interactions. It proves to have the best accuracy when compared with the state-ofthe-art algorithm. Also, it proves to be more accurate against some recent research ideas. It got 95% in all cases, considering this work focused more on increasing the number of instances in comparison.

Background: MSCs (mesenchymal stem cells) are multipotent, spindle-shaped cells that give them the ability to differentiate into a broad lineage of tissues. Polycaprolactone (PCL) is a synthetic material that has been used several times for the fabrication of scaffolds to be utilized in the field of tissue engineering. Aim of the work: The main goal of this research is to develop a protocol for isolating, cultivating, and characterizing rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), as well as to investigate their capacity to repopulate PCL scaffolds. Results: In Dulbecco's Modified Eagle's Medium (DMEM) supplied with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), BMSCs were successfully isolated, cultivated, and grown. The cells were characterized morphologically by their spindle-shape, processes of cytoplasmic, plastic adhesion tendencies, and formation of colonies. They were characterized by flowcytometric analysis as having a positive CD73 expression and a negative CD45 expression. Before cell seeding, the PCL scaffold was inspected under a scanning electron microscope to assess the PCL material characteristics and pour size, and after cell seeding to detect BMSC attachments to the scaffold. Conclusion: The protocol used in this investigation was effective for isolation, culture, and characterization of rabbit BMSCs and the cells that were obtained successfully repopulated the PCL scaffold.

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of different fungal species on the metal uptake from paper sludge by Hemarthria compressa L. Paper sludge (PS) in various concentrations (0, 30% and 60%) were used with four treatments of two fungal species (F0 = Control, F1 = Aspergillus niger, F2 = Trichoderma pseudokoningii, F3 = A. niger + T. pseudokoningii). Paper sludge as rooting medium steadily influenced growth and physio-biochemical attributes of H. compressa in F0. Results revealed discrete variations in growth attributes with different PS concentrations and each fungal treatment. The maximum damages in ionic homeostasis (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) due to PS toxicity were evident in parallel with declined chlorophyll concentration. The highest growth, total chlorophyll and biomass of the plants were observed when PS was treated with combined fungal strains (F3). Translocation factor decreased with F3 that is indicative of changes in Cd, Pb, and Cu movement to shoot from root. The plants with combined fungal treatment also showed greater catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activity. Ions, such as Ca, Mg, and Na, also increased gradually with combined fungal treatment. The correlation matrix displayed a close association among diverse fungal and PS levels with multiple plant attributes. PCA-Biplot confirmed the outcome of correlational analyses among different characters of H. compressa. The combined fungal mediate the extraction of heavy metals from the paper sludge by H. compressa recommends the high accumulation of heavy metal (HM) and possible reutilization of metal free sludge as a fertilizer, for application in cultivated fields. Furthermore, the effects of fungal species on HM attenuation in PS are linear and can be used in different habitats. Advancement in such research work will also be helpful in understanding the mechanisms and enhancing the ability of other native microbes to remediate metals.

Prediction models were developed to estimate the extent to which the metals Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn were taken up by the fruits, the leaves, the stems, and the roots of the okra plant, Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench., grown under greenhouse conditions in soil modified with a spectrum of sewage sludge concentrations: 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g/kg. All the metals under investigation, apart from Cd, were more concentrated in the A. esculentus roots than in any other organ. Overall, the sum of the metal concentration (mg/kg) within the varying plant tissues can be ranked in the following order: roots (13,795.5) > leaves (1252.7) > fruits (489.3) > stems (469.6). For five of the metals (i.e., Cd, Co, Fe, Mn, and Pb), the BCF was 1, (i.e., Cr, 1.074; Cu, 1.347; Ni, 1.576; and Zn, 1.031). The metal BCFs were negatively correlated with the pH of the soil and positively correlated with soil OM content. The above-ground tissues exhibited a TF < 1 for all metals, apart from Cd with respect to the leaves (2.003) and the fruits (2.489), and with the exception of Mn in relation to the leaves (1.149). Further positive associations were demonstrated for the concentrations of all the metals in each examined plant tissue and the corresponding soil metal concentration. The tissue uptakes of the nine metals were negatively correlated with soil pH, but positively associated with the OM content in the soil. The generated models showed high performance accuracy; students’ t-tests indicated that any differences between the measured and forecasted concentrations of the nine metals within the four tissue types of A. esculentus failed to reach significance. It can, therefore, be surmised that the prediction models described in the current research form a feasible method with which to determine the safety and risk to human health when cultivating the tested species in soils modified with sewage sludge.

Vitamin D (VD) deficiency is frequently reported in heart transplant (HT) recipients and routinely supplemented. However, the efficacy of VD supplementation on bone mineral density (BMD) and its association with all-cause mortality is underinvestigated. The VD levels and BMD were studied for two years, and the association of VD and BMD with all-cause mortality risk was investigated. Ninety-six HT patients (38.18 ± 12.10 years old, 74% men) were followed up during VD, Ca, and Mg supplementation. Anthropometric measurements, BMD by Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, VD concentrations, and related biochemical parameters were analyzed before, 1 year, and 2 years after HT. Despite significant improvement of VD3 and 25-hydroxy VD (25OHVD) levels especially in the men, BMD parameters were insignificantly changed. After 2 years, the all-cause mortality rate was 15.6%. High pretransplant levels of 25OHVD failed to improve the survival probability. Cox’s regression showed a 32.7% increased hazard ratio for each unit increase in body mass index (95% CI: 1.015–1.733, p = 0.038), in the VD-deficient group rather than in the VD-sufficient one. In conclusion, VD supplementation improves the biochemical status, especially in VD-deficient HT. However, its impact on the BMD and mortality was not as usually expected. Further investigation of the disturbed VD metabolism in HT is warranted.

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the effect of oral (sofosbuvir / daclatasvir) Combination on the macular and choroidal thickness of Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Methods This study was conducted on 30 subjects recruited from Viral Hepatitis Treatment and Research Centre and examined at Ophthalmology Out Patients Clinics, Ain Shams University Hospital during the period from June 2018 to February 2019. All participants underwent full general and ocular history taking and a precise ophthalmological clinical evaluation including assessment by OCT before starting our Direct Acting Antiviral Drugs (DAAs), sofosbuvir and daclatasvir (SOF/ DAC) combination for 12 weeks then, they reassessed again at the end of the treatment by Spectral Domain optical coherence tomography (SD –OCT) Retina Scan RS - 3000 advance(NIDEK Co., Gamagori Japan) (figure 1). Results Our study included 60 eyes of 30 patients with chronic hepatitis C with no evidence of changes on macular and choroidal thickness have been reported at 3 months after treatment onset in all subjects; the difference was statistically insignificant for macular and choroidal thickness. Conclusions Our study showed that all the participants who were followed before and after treatment showing that there were no changes on the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), there were no changes on macular and choroidal thickness observed throughout all the study period.

Pathogenic infestations are significant threats to vegetable yield, and have become an urgent problem to be solved. Rhizoctonia solani is one of the worst fungi affecting tomato crops, reducing yield in some regions. It is a known fact that plants have their own defense against such infestations, however, it is unclear whether any exogenous material can help plants against infestation. Therefore, we performed greenhouse experiments to evaluate the impacts of R. solani on 15- and 30-day old tomato plants after fungal infestation, and estimated the antifungal activity of nanoparticles (NPs) against the pathogen. We observed severe pathogenic impacts on the above-ground tissues of tomato plants which would affect plant physiology and crop production. Pathogenic infection reduced total chlorophyll and anthocyanin contents, which subsequently disturbed plant physiology. Further, total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents were significantly increased in pathogen treatments. Constitutively, enhanced activities were estimated for catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) in response to reactive oxygen species (ROS)in pathogen-treated plants. Moreover, pathogenesis-related genes, namely, chitinase, plant glutathione S-transferase (GST), phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL1), pathogenesis-related protein (PR12), and pathogenesis-related protein (PR1) were evaluated, with significant differences between treated and control plants. In vitro and greenhouse antifungal activity of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), chitosan nanoparticles, and Ag NPs/CHI NPs composites and plant health was studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry. We found astonishing results, namely, that Ag and CHI have antifungal activities against R. solani. Overall, plant health was much improved following treatment with Ag NPs/CHI NPs composites. In order to manage R. solani pathogenicity and improve tomato health, Ag/CHI NPs composites could be used infield as well as on commercial levels based on recommendations. However, there is an urgent need to first evaluate whether these NP composites have any secondary impacts on human health or the environment.

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common malignancy and the second leading reason of cancer-associated deaths around the world.The poor outcome of patients with HCC is attributed to late detection, with more than two-thirds of patients diagnosed at advanced stages of the disease. However, a considerable improvement in survival has been observed (5-year survival up from 40% to 70%) when patients are diagnosed at an early stage and receive potentially curative therapy in the form of liver transplantation, surgical resection, or tumor ablation. Objective Evaluate levels of serum Dickkopf-1, & its significance as a diagnostic & prognostic marker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Aim of the work assess the possible diagnostic role of serum DKK1 compared to alpha- fetoprotein which is the slandered marker used for diagnosis of HCC.also DKK1 act as prognostic marker for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Pateints and Methodes This study had been carried out on 45 subjects diveded into 2 groups,first group include 30 pateints with liver cirrhosis,and second group 15 pateints with HCC.In this group of patients DKK1 was withdrawn before TACE & 3 months post intervention, age range 25-73 year selected from Internal medicine and Hepatology outpatient clinics and inpatient wards at Ain shams university hospitals from March 2019 till January 2020.They were distributed as 25 males and 20 females. There were 13 pateints with child A,17 pateints with child B, & 15 pateints (20%) with child C. Results In this study, the serum levels of serum DKK1 were highest in patients with HCC compared to those with liver cirrhosis. Also DKK1 values significally decreased after intervention(TACE). Conclusion Serum DKK1 act as a diagnostic marker for HCC and its level significally decrease after TACE

Brucellosis is an important disease of public health significance that leads to severe losses. The current study was carried out to identify the recovered Brucella species , and its prevalence in cows and ewes in Dakahlia and Damietta Governorates during May 2018 to March 2019, with the hemato-biochemical analyses in the positive cases. In the current study, B. melitensis biovar 3 was identified with a total prevalence of 8.75% and 6.98% in cows and ewes, respectively. Hematological results denoted a normocytic normochromic anemia in infected cows and ewes at the 2nd and 4th weeks after abortion group (GP) 2 and GP.3, respectively, with leucocytosis especially in GP.3. Significant hypoproteinemia and hypoalbuminemia were detected in infected cows at the 2nd week after abortion, with non-significant changes at 4th week after abortion. While Brucellosis-infected ewes showed a significant (P < 0.05) hypoproteinemia and hypoalbuminemia at both 2nd and 4th weeks post abortion. The serum AST, ALT, ALP and LDH activities and levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were markedly elevated (P < 0.05) in both infected cow and ewes with markedly lowered serum urea level. Whereas serum glucose level was significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in infected cows (GPs 2 and 3), as well as, infected ewes of GP. 2, with non-significant changes in infected ewes of GP3. The serum creatinine level showed non-significant changes in all infected cows and ewes. Serum immunoglobulin M was significantly increased in both infected cows and ewes of GPs 2 and 3, while immunoglobulin G was significantly elevated in both infected cow and ewes of GP3. Moreover, phagocytic percent and index showed a significant decrease in both infected cows and ewes (GPs2 and 3). Thus, evaluations of hematological, biochemical and immunological parameters together with specific diagnostic tests are necessary to obtain more reliable results for the diagnosis of Brucellosis in cows and ewes.

Chemotherapy medicates cancer via killing cells. It may destroy both cancer and normal cells. This research was performed to investigate the influences of cisplatin and cyclophosphamide on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) bearing mice through some hematological, biochemical, molecular, and pathological studies. A total of 80 healthy female Swiss mice were equally divided into four groups. Group 1 was kept as the negative control. Groups 2 to 4 were injected intraperitoneally (IP) with 2.5 × 106 EAC where mice in group 2 were kept as the positive control without treatment. Groups 3 and 4 were injected IP daily for 12 days with cisplatin and cyclophosphamide with 10-mg/kg and 100-mg/kg body weight respectively. Blood and tissue samples were collected after 12 days post treatment. Erythrogram revealed macrocytic normochromic anemia in the EAC group. Group 3 showed normocytic normochromic anemia. Group 4 proved macrocytic hypochromic anemia. Thrombocytopenia was detected in gps. 3 and 4. Leukogram revealed significant accretion in total leukocytic, granulocytic, and monocytic counts in gp. 2. On the contrary, gps. 3 and 4 clarify significant drop in these parameters with granulocytosis. A significant perquisite in the liver markers (ALP, AST,and ALT), uric acid, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen levels were seen all over the experimental periods in all groups. On the other side, total proteins and albumin levels manifested significant dwindling in gp. 2 followed by gp. 4 then gp. 3, where globulin level elucidates significant diminution in gps. 3 and 4, and non-significant decrease was recorded in gp. 2. These results were confirmed by damage in liver and kidney tissues monitored by pathological examination and comet assay.

A study of molecular variation among Botrytis spp., the causal pathogen of scape and umbel blights of onion, as well as the biocontrol of the virulent pathogen using Bacillus subtilis PHYS7 under greenhouse conditions was carried out. Twenty-three isolates of Botrytis spp. were recovered from onion plants showing umbel blight symptoms. They were able to infect onion plants with varied severity. All Botrytis spp. produced cellulases; however, almost all of them produced pectinase. The highest activities of cellulases and pectinase were achieved by B. allii PHYOA1; however, B. cinerea PHYOC3 showed a high activity of cellulases but it failed to produce pectinase. The genetic variability among the pathogens was assessed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, using 5 random 10-mer primers: OPA03, OPA05, OPA06, OPI09, and OPW15. The results showed that 50 DNA bands ranging from 100 bp (OPA03) to 1600 bp (OPA05) were generated by the 5 primers that differentiated 9 isolates of Botrytis spp. The dual culture test showed that Bacillus subtilis PHYS77 and PHYS78 had a high antagonistic potentiality against the pathogen and involved in 60–62% reduction in its growth. Application of Ridomil Gold MZ and Bacillus subtilis PHYS77 on onion plants, 2 days after or before infection with the pathogen, significantly reduced the disease severity than the control. The study approved the molecular tool as a reliable and quick method to differentiate among the virulent and non-virulent strains of Botrytis spp. The application of B. subtilis PHYS77 as an effective biocontrol agent in the management of the onion blight disease can be recommended.

Nowadays, robotics plays a vital role in medical applications, especially in dentistry, where robots can track oral hygiene and perform dental surgeries. Dental implant replacement is one of the most challenging issues in dental surgery; quality procedures and safety measures need to be considered during this process. Manual dental implant is usually incapable to reach the satisfactory levels of accuracy and safety. In addition, it requires well-trained dentists and consumes a long time. Therefore, robot-assisted surgery systems are of utmost importance for dental implant placement as they can maintain higher level of dental examination precision and safety. More specifically, robotic arms can be manufactured with intelligent models for drilling identified locations in teeth. These intelligent robots have a high degree of autonomy, can automatically adjust during intraoperative procedures, and can execute dental surgical tasks directly on patients without any apparent control by a surgeon. In this article, we propose a novel approach to develop a robot-assisted intelligent system that improves the efficiency of dental implant process based on Guided Local Search with Continuous Time Neural Network (GLCTNN). Firstly, dental facts are collected from PubMed articles and Maryland school children datasets. Secondly, using the collected facts, an intelligent robot-assisted model based on GLCTNN is developed. The second step comprises data preprocessing to remove unsolicited details, extracting useful features from the clean data, and utilizing the extracted features to train the GLCTNN model. The proposed system recognizes the implantation location with high accuracy and maximizes implantation rate. The efficiency of the system is evaluated using experimental analysis at lab scale. The proposed GLCTNN-based approach ensures maximum average accuracy (99.5%) and minimum average deviation error (0.323) compared to W-J48, Naïve Bayes (NB), Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighboring (KNN), Nearest Neighbors with Structural Risk Minimization (NNSRM) and Generalized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) approaches.

This study is aimed to appraise the impact of dietary supplementation with Echinacea purpurea (EP) in broiler chickens infected by pathogenic E. coli. Eighty-one-day-old chicks of both sexes, commercial Hubbard chicks, were divided into 4 groups. The first was kept as normal control, the second was supplemented by EP (5 mg/kg feed) from the first day to the end, where the third was infected orally by 1 ml E. coli O78 at 107 CFU intra-crop at 7 days old, while the last group was supplemented by EP and infected by the E. coli O78 as previously described . E. coli-infected chicks disclosed severe symptoms with mortality 30%. Where, the infected and EP supplemented group showed less clinical symptoms and 15% mortality. EP-supplemented groups showed a significant improvement in their body weight in comparing with infected group. E. coli-infected chickens revealed a significant drop in lymphocytes’ number with a significant elevation in monocyte and heterophils with non-significant changes in total leucocyte count when matched with gp. (1), while the fourth group revealed non-significant changes in total leucocyte with a significant drop in heterophils and monocyte and a significant elevation in the lymphocytes matching with the 3rd group. Serum biochemical markers of liver, kidneys, and immunological parameters showed sever adverse alterations associated with E. coli infection. Dietary supplementations with Echinacea purpurea improve the final body weight and immune response of non-infected chicks and have a respectable effect for facing E. coli infection. EP improves hematological and serum biochemical adverse effects occured by E. coli infection. Histopathology of liver, kidneys, intestines, and spleen confirms these alterations.

A reduction in crop spoilage and an increase in shelf-life is the goal of effective disease control methods. This study aimed to assess ZnO-nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) as a safe, new protectant against Rhizopus soft rot of sweet potato. ZnO-NPs had a fungicidal effect against Rhizopus stolonifer when used at concentrations above 50 ppm. The results showed that tubers treated with ZnO-NPs exhibited fewer fungal populations (1.2 CFU per segment) than those that did not receive the treatment. Tubers infected with Rhizopus stolonifer and treated with ZnO-NPs showed no visible decay for up to 15 days, indicating that ZnO-NPs act as a coating layer on tuber surface. The greatest weight loss after 15 days of storage was reported in infected tubers (8.98%), followed by infected tubers treated with ZnO (6.54%) and infected tubers treated with ZnO-NPs (3.79%). The activity of cell-wall degrading enzymes, α-amylase and cellulase, were significantly increased in both infected tubers and those treated with ZnO, compared to the tubers treated with ZnO-NPs. These results confirm that coating with ZnO-NPs is an effective method of protecting sweet potato tubers from infection, maintaining their quality and increasing their shelf-life for up to 2 months in storage.

The peach (Prunus persica) is a fruit that is susceptible to many fungal infections following harvest, leading to significant losses. This study was aimed at evaluating the efficacy of a novel form...