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Background: Fungicides impact on agriculture is reflected by the wide spread use of azoxustrobin (AZX) and metalxyl M, the active ingredients of premium fungicide used on more than 80 different crops. Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the hepato-renal-toxicity of premium fungicide on adult albino rats and focused on benefits of sesame oil in detoxification of toxicological effects of fungicides. Materials and methods: Thirty male albino rats allocated into five groups, -ve, +ve control and sesame oil groups. While the two other groups were treated with sesame oil before and after fungicide exposure daily by gavage for (28 days). Results: Exposure of male albino rats to Azoxystrobin fungicide resulted in liver and kidney injury as evidenced by increased liver and renal function bioindicator (ALT, AST, ALP, urea and creatinine)..Also, glutathione (GSH) was significantly decreases and malondialdhyde (MDA) was increased as oxidative stress biomarkers. In addition, degeneration of some tubular epithelial cells and hemorrhage in kidney and severe inflammatory cell infiltration in liver. Conclusion: The present study concluded that premium had induced functional and histological changes in liver and kidney male rats. Sesame oil successfully ameliorated the oxidative stress, hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity of fungicide.

BackgroundThe pre-operative period is a very stressful event for most of the individuals undergoing surgery especially the pediatric patients. So, relieving their pre-operative anxiety becomes an important concern for an anesthesiologist. Many anesthetic pre-medications are used to relieve this stress response. Of these pre-medications, midazolam and dexmedetomidine are effectively used as sedatives. The present study was planned to compare intranasal dexmedetomidine with intranasal midazolam as a pre-anesthetic medication in children. Forty-eight children aged 3–7 years, of either sex, weighing 13–22 kg, with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status 1 and undergoing elective adenotonsillectomy surgery were enrolled in this comparative prospective, double blinded, randomized clinical study. The children were divided into 2 groups: group D and group M, of 24 each. Forty-five minutes before induction of anesthesia, group D (n= 24) received intranasal dexmedetomidine at a dose of 1 μg/kg and group M (n= 24) received intranasal midazolam of 0.2 mg/kg.ResultsChildren who were pre-medicated with dexmedetomidine had lower sedation scores, lower anxiety levels, easier child-parent separation, better mask acceptance, and lower pain scores than those who received midazolam. The incidence of emergence agitation was decreased in both groups with no significant difference.ConclusionIntranasal dexmedetomidine seems to offer some advantages compared with midazolam. Thus, it can be used effectively and safely as a pre-anesthetic medication in children undergoing any surgical procedures under general anesthesia.

Polydatin (PD) has many pharmacological activities; however, its bioavailability is still a critical cornerstone issue. The present investigation aimed to develop a novel oral formula of polydatin-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (PD-CSNPs) to improve PD therapeutic potential against type 2 diabetes. The interaction mechanism between PD and CSNPs was studied via Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations. The formula was prepared and characterized by FTIR, XRD, TEM, and dynamic light scattering. The release profile of PD was studied in vitro, as well as the cytotoxicity effect versus Vero cell line and antidiabetic activity in type 2 diabetic rats were investigated. The practical results verified the formation of PD-CSNPs with entrapment efficiency of about 96.74 ± 0.39%, size average 144.25 ± 3.37 nm, and the prolonged release pattern was less than 20% after 12 hrs. The cytotoxicity study confirmed the safety of the formula at low and high doses. Moreover, the in vivo study revealed that PD-CSNPs exhibited highly significant antidiabetic efficacy in diabetic rats compared to free PD. To conclude, the current investigation proved that CSNPs are promising nanocarriers for nontoxic and effective PD delivery against type 2 diabetes.

In modern world, hell is not the punishment but the society in which we live and the people who surround us. Through their interference in our affairs, those people make our life miserable and look like hell. This research deals with Jean Paul Sartre's play No Exit (1944) illuminating the afterlife of the others. He used three dead characters that are punished by being imprisoned into a room together for eternity. He symbolizes the room as a hell in order to represent the real world around us. Their coming into this small hell shows their indispensability to one another. They represent the essential idea of the play that others are torture for us. By emphasizing on the notion of hell being other people, Sartre shows that man's pain, suffering, depression are due to others. By repeating his prominent line 'Hell is Other People', Sartre concentrates on the relation of people that is always conflict; meaning that other people just being annoying. For him, the mere presence of another person will definitely trouble the others due to his interference in private matters. For that reason, Sartre portrays hell as a room with no torture or flames as the real torture is the presence of others. Through concentrating on the nature of man's existence, Sartre can reveal the problems of both man and society as well.

Objective: To explore the probable in vitro, in situ and in vivo mechanisms of gallic acid (GA) and p-coumaric acid (PCA) as anti-hyperglycemic agents.Animals and methods: Male albino rats were allocated into four groups, group1 was used as normal control. Group 2 was established as a diabetic control and group3 and 4 were treated with an oral dose of GA and PCA, respectively.Results: GA and PCA revealed a significant decrease in the activity of α-amylase, a noticeable rise in glucose induced-insulin secretion and glucose-uptake in peripheral glucose-uptake in vitro, increase also liver glycogen and serum insulin levels in vivo. Further, GA and PCA exhibited a significant reduction in intestinal glucose absorption in situ compared to blank.Conclusion: The antihyperglycemic activities of GA and PCA can be mediated through delaying intestinal glucose absorption, enhancing β-cell activity and promoting glucose uptake by peripheral tissue via enhancing insulin sensitivity.

Peaches are climacteric stone fruits and they establish an interesting alternative as a minimally processed (MP) product due to their characteristics like flavor, color, smell, and also because of its handling resistance. However, they have a short shelf life after a fresh cut due to enzymatic browning as well as the stone cavity collapse. The present investigation aimed to determine the combined effect of blanching, osmotic dehydration and preservatives on the quality and stability of minimally processed refrigerated (MPR) peaches. Fruits were cut into halves and subjected to osmotic dehydration using sucrose solution (40%) at ambient temperature (25-30oC) for 4 hours. The pH of the syrup was adjusted with citric acid to 3.60. Potassium sorbate (0.75%), sodium bisulphite (0.45%) and ascorbic acid (0.50%) were then added to the syrup. Afterward, peaches were drained, packed under vacuum and stored at 4±1oC. Physicochemical analysis (total soluble solids, pH, total acidity, color parameters total, phenols, total sugars, and ascorbic acid) and microbial quality along with a sensory analysis were measured at regular intervals throughout the storage period. During 60 days of storage, a decrease in pH, ascorbic acid (mg/100g), color (L* value) and sensory characteristics were observed. From the results obtained it was revealed that the MPR peach-halves showed good overall acceptability up to 30 days of storage at refrigerated temperature (4±1oC).

Chicoric acid (CA) is a natural antioxidant with promising hepatoprotective activity. We investigated the potential of CA to prevent methotrexate (MTX) hepatotoxicity, pointing to the role of Nrf2/HO-1 signaling and PPARγ. Rats received CA for 15 days and were then injected with MTX at day 16. Blood and tissue samples were collected for analysis at day 19. CA ameliorated liver function markers and mitigated histological alterations in MTX-induced rats. Pre-treatment with CA suppressed reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation and enhanced antioxidants in MTX-induced rats. Moreover, CA upregulated hepatic Nrf2, HO-1, NQO-1, and PPARγ, and attenuated inflammation. Consequently, CA inhibited apoptosis by increasing Bcl-2 expression and suppressing Bax, cytochrome c, and caspase-3 in MTX-administered rats. In conclusion, CA prevented oxidative stress, inflammation, and liver injury induced by MTX by activating Nrf2 /HO-1 signaling and PPARγ.

The present study aimed to evaluate the antihyperglycemic effects of Musa paradisiaca (M. paradisiaca) leaf and fruit peel hydroethanolic extracts and to suggest their probable mode of actions in nicotinamide (NA)/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. The leaf and fruit peel hydroethanolic extracts were analyzed by GC-MS that indicated the presence of phytol, octadecatrienoic acid, hexadecanoic acid, and octadecadienoic acid as major components in the leaf extract and vitamin E, octadecenamide, β-sitosterol, and stigmasterol as major phytochemicals in the fruit peel extract. Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (60 mg/kg body weight) dissolved in citrate buffer (pH 4.5), 15 minutes after intraperitoneal injection of NA (120 mg/kg body weight). The NA/STZ-induced diabetic rats were, respectively, treated with M. paradisiaca leaf and fruit peel hydroethanolic extracts at a dose of 100 mg/kg body weight/day by oral administration for 28 days. The treatment of NA/STZ-induced diabetic rats with leaf and fruit peel extracts significantly improved the impaired oral glucose tolerance and significantly increased the lowered serum insulin and C-peptide levels. The HOMA-IR (as the index of insulin resistance) and QUICKI (as a marker for insulin sensitivity), as well as HOMA-β cell function were significantly alleviated as a result of treatment of diabetic rats with leaf and fruit peel extracts. In association, the elevated serum-free fatty acids, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels were significantly decreased. In addition, the suppressed adipose tissue PPARγ, GLUT4, adiponectin, and insulin receptor β-subunit mRNA expressions were upregulated while the elevated adipose tissue resistin expression was downregulated in diabetic rats as a result of treatment with the leaf and peel extract. Based on these results, it can be concluded that M. paradisiaca leaf and fruit peel hydroethanolic extracts have antihyperglycemic effects which may be mediated via their insulinotropic and insulin-sensitizing effects.

Despite the great strides made in fundamental and applied research, forensic entomology is constantly growing and considered to be an interconnected scientific discipline. Indeed, there is shortage in the available scientific literature in comparison to many other legal and biological subjects as well as in the number of forensic entomologists. The main goal of this work is to clarify the importance of forensic entomology by demonstration of their applications; it can provide important information about when, where, and how a particular death occurred. It can also identify the assailant and/or the victim or might highlight in some cases, the victim's state of neglect prior to death. It also aimed to demonstrate the impact of new emerging technologies; encouraging researchers to further pursue this line of research. More multidisciplinary research would lead to better understanding and identifying novel research areas. Consequently, that could meet scientific and legal expectations.Mimo ogromnych postępów w badaniach podstawowych i stosowanych entomologia sądowa stale się rozwija i jest uznawana za interdyscyplinarną dziedzinę wiedzy. W zestawieniu z innymi naukami prawnymi i biologicznymi publikacje z zakresu entomologii sądowej są jednak stosunkowo skromne, podobnie jak liczba entomologów sądowych. Głównym celem niniejszej pracy jest przedstawienie znaczenia entomologii sądowej przez omówienie jej zastosowań, czynności podejmowane przez entomologów mogą bowiem dostarczać istotnych informacji dotyczących czasu, miejsca i przyczyny śmierci, ułatwiać identyfikację sprawców i/lub ofiar przestępstwa, a w niektórych przypadkach także określać stan zaniedbania ofiar przed śmiercią. W pracy omówiono też możliwość wykorzystywania zdobyczy najnowocześniejszych technologii. Interdyscyplinarność prac badawczych umożliwi dalsze zgłębianie tej dziedziny, przyczyniając się do wytyczania nowych obszarów badań z korzyścią dla rozwoju nauki oraz zastosowań kryminalistycznych.

Background: Nurses are very important frontline health care professionals as they spend more time with patients than other professionals. This is even more so at this critical time of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nursing profession is facing great challenges in coping with the pandemic as they are more vulnerable to exposure and infection with the disease. Kuwait is not spared from the global pandemic which has put the health sector under immense pressure. Because COVID-19 is highly transmissible and deadly, it poses a huge health risk to nurses and has a huge impact on their cognitive, emotional, behavioural and physical dimensions. Aim: The study aims to explore the positive and negative emotions and feelings of staff nurses while giving care to COVID-19 patients. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out. 300 nurses from different general hospitals, field hospitals, and quarantine facilities in Kuwait participated in the study. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: The findings show that for the cognitive evaluation, 72% were moderately affected, for the emotional evaluation 51.3% and 44% were moderately and mildly affected respectively, for the behavioural evaluation, 66.7% were severely affected, and for the physical evaluation, 43.3% and 31.7% were moderately and severely affected respectively. Prolonged working hours has a highly significant negative correlation to emotional (r −0.165), behavioral (r −0.177) and physical (r −0.155) dimension of the nurses at 0.01 level using Spearman’s correlation. Conclusion: The study concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the psychophysical dimensions of staff nurses.

Micronutrients such as Zn, Cu, Fe, and Mn are required metals for plant crops to increase their yield and quality. Metals are included in numerous biochemical reactions as enzymes, co-enzymes, and co-factors. Copper, zinc, and manganese are essential for the development and growth of animal as pigs and broiler chicks. Amino acids are of significant importance and are used in many applications, fields, and industries such as food, animal feed, supplement, pharmaceutical production, and as biofertilizers. Fertilizers of inorganic mineral structure are hardly diffused from the leaf surface into the plant, while chelated minerals with amino acids provide a great advantage in increasing the absorption efficiency and translocation of minerals within the plant.Also, it was known that derivatives of free or chelated amino acids have marked antioxidant activity and are able to inhibit the development of tumor tissues and leading to increase immune protective abilities of the organisms. Nanotechnology increased the application efficiency of metal-amino acid complexes. Using nano fertilizers to plants is one of critical importance due to their unique properties in size and increased surface areas. It released the nutrients on demand and regulates plant growth (such as wheat, rice, barley, and rapeseed plants). Metal chelating complexes have found extensive applications in various fields of human interest.Chelators are used in medical applications; water softeners are included as ingredients in many commercial products such as shampoos and food preservatives and control heavy metal pollution in aquacultures. Amino acids may be used separately in chelation process as free amino acids or can be separated from plant or animal wastes. It can be separated by hydrolysis of plant or agricultural crop wastes as thrones of tomato and sugar beet plants. Also, it can be separated from animal origin as leather wastes and chicken feather waste or from whey of cow milk after mozzarella cheese formation. So, amino acid production from wastes decreases the cost of metal-chelated complex formation.

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In the present study, Zingiber officinale is used for the synthesis of Zingiber officinale capped silver nanoparticles (ZOE-AgNPs) and compares the antimicrobial efficacy and compressive strength of conventional glass ionomer cement (GIC) combined with ZOE-AgNPs, lyophilized miswak, and chlorhexidine diacetate (CHX) against oral microbes. Five groups of the disc-shaped GIC specimens were prepared. Group A: lyophilized miswak and GIC combination, Group B: ZOE-AgNPs and GIC combinations, Group C: CHX and GIC combination, Group D: ZOE-AgNPs + CHX + GIC; Group E: Conventional GIC. Results confirmed the successful formation of ZOE-AgNPs that was monitored by UV-Vis sharp absorption spectra at 415 nm. The X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) results revealed the formation of ZOE-AgNPs with a mean size 10.5–14.12 nm. The peaks of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were appearing the involvement of ZOE components onto the surface of ZOE-AgNPs which played as bioreducing, and stabilizing agents. At a 24-h, one-week and three-week intervals, Group D showed the significantly highest mean inhibitory zones compared to Group A, Group B, and Group C. At microbe-level comparison, Streptococcus mutans and Staphylococcus aureus were inhibited significantly by all the specimens tested except group E when compared to Candida albicans. Group D specimens showed slightly higher (45.8 ± 5.4) mean compressive strength in comparison with other groups. The combination of GIC with ZOE-AgNPs and chlorhexidine together enhanced its antimicrobial efficacy and compressive strength compared to GIC with ZOE-AgNPs or lyophilized miswak or chlorhexidine combination alone. The present study revealed that The combination of GIC with active components of ZOE-AgNPs and chlorhexidine paves the way to lead its effective nano-dental materials applications.

The objective of the present study is to determine the antioxidant and anticancer activities of Nostoc linckia extracts cultivated under heavy metal stress conditions (0.44, 0.88, and 1.76 mg/L for zinc and 0.158, 0.316, 0.632 mg/L for copper). Phycobiliprotein, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and tannins were measured. Active ingredients of extracts were evaluated by GC-mass spectroscopy. The obtained results revealed that higher zinc and copper concentrations showed growth inhibition while 0.22 mg/L (Zn) and 0.079 mg/L (Cu) enhanced growth, reaching its maximum on the 25th day. Increases in catalase, lipids peroxidation, and antioxidants, as well as tannins and flavonoids, have been induced by integration of 0.88 mg/L (Zn) and 0.316 mg/L (Cu). Elevation of Zn concentration induced augmentation of antioxidant activity of crude extract (DPPH or ABTS), with superior activity at 0.44 mg/L zinc concentration (81.22%). The anticancer activity of Nostoc&nbsp, linckia extract (0.44 mg/L Zn) tested against four cancer cell lines: A549, Hela, HCT 116, and MCF-7. The extract at 500 µg/mL appeared the lowest cell viability of tested cell lines. The promising extract (0.44 mg/L Zn) recorded the lowest cell viability of 25.57% in cervical cell line, 29.74% in breast cell line, 33.10% in lung cell line and 34.53% in the colon cell line. The antioxidant active extract showed significant stability against pH with attributed increase in antioxidant activity in the range between 8–12. The extract can be used effectively as a natural antioxidant and anticancer after progressive testing.

Paratuberculosis (PTB) has been reported in the Sudan in cattle and goats for more than 50 years but has never been reported in sheep. However, suspicion of the disease in a breeding flock of sheep in Khartoum North locality was made due to a history of unknown cause of loss of weight. Blood and faecal samples were collected from all animals (N = 59): harvested sera were tested for anti-Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) antibodies by Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA); faeces were screened for acid-fast bacilli by Ziehl–Neelsen staining, tested for MAP DNA by recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) and some faecal samples were cultured for MAP isolation. Typical MAP acid-fast bacilli were seen in 10.2% (6/59) of the faecal smears, 37.5% of the tested faecal samples (12/32) were positive for MAP DNA and only 3 (5.1%) animals were seropositive for MAP. MAP positive cultures were obtained from 2 out the 6 samples showing typical MAP acid-fast bacilli; the isolates were confirmed by real-time PCR and sequencing. As sheep are animals of utmost economic importance as the main export animals for the country, this first report of ovine PTB warrants special considerations and more investigations for planning control programmes of the disease.

Dyes are known to be harmful organic compounds for the environment since only a small amount of dyes can be hazardous. So, the treatment of industrial dye effluent using a commercial and effective catalyst is the study's main objective. The adsorptive and photocatalytic activity of the Egyptian bentonite was improved by acid treatment, followed by incorporation of cerium dioxide on bentonite surface via simple precipitation method and then thermal treatment by calcination. The natural bentonite and the modified bentonite (B-CeO2) samples were characterized by XRD and TEM-EDX techniques. The removal% of dye was studied by changing the initiator, catalyst dosage, temperature, and solution pH in dark and visible light. The maximum dye removal (91%) was obtained in acidic solution (6.34, the normal pH of dye effluent) using 2 g/L catalyst dosage, 5 mM/L ammonium persulfate, 200 W lamb at 40 oC with constant stirring. The results indicated that the modified bentonite has high photocatalytic activity in dye treatment due to a synergism between the effect of light, ammonium persulfate, CeO2, and exfoliated/delaminated bentonite.

Synthesis of metallic nanoparticles (MNPs) with different forms and sizes has focused great importance due to their updated characteristics as compared to their native or natural atom counterparts. Algae are one of the most common biological entities existing autotrophically, performing around 50% of photosynthesis in the world. Different micro- and macroalgae are rich in active ingredients which are considered an appealing platform to serve as biorefineries for contriving a wide spectrum of high-value products in addition to fuels, besides their role as antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, and bioaccumulators of heavy metals. Various preparation factors and parameters such as the methods used for green nanoparticle (NP) synthesis, algal extract or filtrate concentrations, pressure, pH, temperatures, contact time, particle size, other environmental conditions, and proximity greatly affect the quantity and quality of the biosynthesized NPs and their properties from algal species. The data collected from recently published articles revealed that algae (micro or macro) are an alternative material for the synthesis of NPs due to their advantages of fast growth (short life cycle), low cost, and short time for collection and harvesting, in addition to the presence of various reducing, capping, and stabilizing agents in the algal filtrate or extract which may be used to convert metal ions to nano forms such as polysaccharides, phenolics, proteins, alkaloids, and terpenoids. Therefore, algae became the important organism for green synthesis of various NPs. The algal NPs can be used with a broad spectrum of biological activities and applications such as antioxidant, antiviral, antimicrobial, and cosmetics. The current review will focus on the green synthesis of NPs using different micro- and macroalgal species and factors affecting NP preparations in addition to the biological activities of the produced NPs as antioxidant.

Tramadol (TR) is a widely prescribed pain killer because of its relatively safe profile among opioids. Nevertheless, intoxication can occur and overdose can lead to fatal outcomes. Surprisingly, in some fatalities for which death is attributable to TR alone, postmortem blood concentration levels overlap with the therapeutic concentration range. These fatal cases might be explained by pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of TR that are known to be both enantioselective and influenced by genes. Indeed pharmacogenetics (PG) is of great importance in this issue as it has the ability to elucidate the genetic variation contributing to drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and response so that adverse drug reactions, toxicity, and even death can be avoided. The aim of this chapter is to present this issue.