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Landslides are a rare but hazardous geological phenomenon in Egypt, with the El Mokattam plateau situated in the eastern part of Cairo covering approximately 64 km 2 and ranging in elevation from 50 to 205 m. This study aims to identify and monitor landslides in the area using various geophysical methods. Twelve Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) profiles,twenty-two P-wave Seismic Refraction profiles, twenty-two Refraction microtremors profiles, three ground penetrating radar (GPR) profiles and borehole data were utilized to analyze the occurrence of landslides in the El Mokattam Plateau. Additionally, we employed a relatively new geophysical method, studying high-frequency microtremor sounds emitted from landslide collapses at 22 stations. Our analysis identified steep slopes, jointed or fractured rocks, and irrigation water as primary factors contributing to landslides, with irrigation water acting as a lubricant for clays and promoting ground sliding. Examination of high-frequency microtremor sounds revealed a potential correlation between vertical high-frequency spectra at 100 Hz and landslide collapses, which aids in the identification of landslide-prone zones. Therefore, we conclude that seismological studies, particularly spectral analysis of high-frequency and low-amplitude sounds (microtremors) emitted from soil, offer a promising approach for investigating landslides., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Evaluation of mechanical prosthetic valve function is based on echocardiography, but adequate assessment of leaflet motion is limited by acoustic shadowing. Cinefluoroscopy is a standard method to assess leaflet motion, while computed tomography (CT) has been suggested as an alternative. We sought to compare the feasibility of leaflet motion assessment by cinefluoroscopy vs. CT. In 35 prospectively enrolled patients, leaflet motion was assessed in 43 bileaflet mechanical prostheses (29 mitral and 14 aortic) by cinefluoroscopy and non-contrast CT. Assessment was considered feasible when the 'in profile' projection (with the radiographic beam parallel to both the valve ring plane and the tilting axis of discs) could be achieved. Overall feasibility of fluoroscopic assessment was 74% (mitral, 66% vs. aortic, 93%; p = 0.071), while feasibility of CT assessment was 100% (p = 0.003). Among prostheses with unfeasible fluoroscopic assessment, CT suggested an extreme C-arm angulation to achieve the "in profile" projection (RAO: 76.0 ± 5.8°, LAO: 122.7 ± 32.5°, CRA: 51.4 ± 16.0°, CAU: 57.0 ± 18.2°). Among prostheses with feasible assessment by both techniques, fluoroscopy and CT yielded similar opening and closing angles (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.959-0.998) with lower irradiation with CT as compared with fluoroscopy (26.2[21.1-29.3] vs. 289[179-358] mGy, p < 0.001). While CT scan took 8.7 ± 0.5 s, fluoroscopy required 2.64 ± 1.56 min to achieve and record the "in profile" projection. Non-contrast CT provides a higher feasibility and a quicker evaluation of mechanical prosthetic valve leaflet motion with less irradiation than fluoroscopy, especially in mitral valve position., (© 2022. Springer Japan KK, part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: High-resolution pulse oximetry (HRPO) may offer a low-cost and simple screening option for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) that could be vitally important in rural areas with limited healthcare resources and specialty care. Our team hypothesized that application of this technology to a broad cohort of rural dwelling hospitalized individuals would demonstrate congruence similar to previous urban studies comparing HRPO to portable sleep monitors., Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at West Virginia University Hospital and compared indices obtained from HRPO with those obtained from a type III portable sleep monitor (PM) on the same night., Results: A total of 365 individuals underwent evaluation. The mean oxygen desaturation index (18.8 ± 19.3 events/h) from the HRPO was slightly higher than the mean respiratory event index (16.0 ± 18.1 events/h, p ≤ 0.001) from the PM. ROC curves were developed for thresholds of apnea severity predicted by the screening program. The AUC values for all three thresholds exceeded 0.92 and for a respiratory event index (REI) of ≥ 30 was 0.965. Indices from the PM and HRPO demonstrated agreement in those individuals with screening suggestive of moderate to severe disease., Conclusion: This study demonstrates that use of HRPO in screening for SDB in hospitalized patients from rural communities is as accurate as PM and may serve as a simple cost-effective tool to address sleep health disparities in these regions with significant health inequity. Our data extend previous findings by applying HRPO to a larger hospitalized cohort with highly prevalent cardiopulmonary disease., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Lack of conal rotation and conal malseptation is a characteristic anatomical feature for TOF which lead to dextroposed position of aorta and significant RVOT narrowing. The quantitative assessment of these anatomical features using modern cardiac imaging modality has been rarely discussed in the literature. All TOF scanned had in our center from 2013 till 2019 were included. The angle of aortic root rotation was recorded by measuring the angle between a line connecting the midpoint of the non-coronary sinus to the anterior commissure and another line along the interatrial septum. Rotation angles were correlated with proximal main pulmonary artery (MPA) size indexed to BSA. 287 TOF patients were included, 258 patients (91%) had TOF with pulmonary stenosis (TOF-PS) including 138 male (54%), median age 2 years (2 months-40 years), and 29 patients (9%) had TOF with pulmonary atresia (TOF-PA) including 17 male (59%), median age 5 years (1 m-33 years). The whole cases demonstrated clockwise rotation of the aortic root. The mean rotation angle in TOF-PS group was 52.6 ± 20.9° and in TOF-PA group was 64.9 ± 13.9°. Proximal MPA diameter was 11.1 ± 5.9 mm/m 2 . There was a significant negative correlation between aortic root rotation angle and proximal MPA diameter (r = - 0.262, P = 0.000). The rotation angle of aortic root was significantly higher in TOF-PA compared to TOF-PS (64.9 ± 13.9° vs. 52.6 ± 20.9°, P = 0.001, respectively). MSCT provide a quantitative measurement methodology of conal malseptation and its effect in TOF patients. There is a clockwise rotation angle of the aortic root in TOF patients that correlates negatively with proximal MPA size. TOF-PA have a larger rotation angle of aortic root., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Abstract: Based on coronary angiography and interoperative inspection, anomalous origin of coronary artery crossing the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) is common in tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) patients. However, other coronary anomalies may be underestimated due to the overlying myocardium, epicardial fat, or adhesions due to previous palliative surgery. Currently, coronary artery visibility dramatically improved by multislice computed tomography (MSCT). We performed this study to assess the coronary arteries anatomy in TOF patients using MSCT.All TOF patients underwent MSCT examination at our centre from 2013 till 2019 were included. Assessment of the coronary arteries' origin and course were performed. Presence of myocardial bridge were assessed, and indexed RV mass was calculated.318 TOF patients were included, median age 2 years (range 1 month-46 years), 175 males (55%). The abnormal coronary artery origin and course were detected in 20 patients (6%); coronary artery crossed RVOT in 13 patients (65%), 5 patients (25%) had a retro-aortic course and 2 patient (10%) had inter-arterial course. Myocardial bridges of left anterior descending artery or/and right coronary artery were reported in 100 patients (36%), no myocardial bridge of left circumflex was reported. RV mass was 29.0 ± 21.1 g/m2. There was no correlation between RV mass and presence of myocardial bridges.MSCT is a useful imaging modality for detection of coronary arteries anomalies in TOF patients. Coronary artery crossing RVOT is not the only abnormal course and myocardial bridging is not a rare finding. Further studies are needed to demonstrate the clinical significance of these observations., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

Colistin is considered as a last resort agent for treatment of severe infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE). Recently, plasmid-mediated colistin resistance genes ( mcr type) have been reported, mainly corresponding to mcr-1 producers. Those mcr-1 -positive Enterobacterales have been identified not only from human isolates, but also from food samples, from animal specimens and from environmental samples in various parts of the world. Our study focused on the occurrence and characterization of mcr-1 -positive Enterobacterales recovered from retail raw chicken in Egypt. From the 345 retail chicken carcasses collected, a total of 20 samples allowed to recover mcr-1 -positive isolates ( Escherichia coli , n = 19; Citrobacter freundii , n = 1). No mcr-2- to mcr-10 -positive isolate was identified from those samples. The colistin resistance trait was confirmed for all those 20 isolates with a positivity of the Rapid Polymyxin NP (Nordmann-Poirel) test. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of colistin for all MCR-1-producing isolates ranged between 4 and 16 μg/mL. Noticeably, 9 out of the 20 mcr-1 -positive isolates produced an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL), respectively producing CTX-M-9 ( n = 2), CTX-M-14 ( n = 4), CTX-M-15 ( n = 2), and SHV-12 ( n = 1). Noteworthy, the fosA4 gene encoding resistance to fosfomycin was found in a single mcr-1 -positive E. coli isolate, in which both genes were located on different conjugative plasmids. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns were identified, corresponding to 10 different sequence types (STs), highlighting the genetic diversity of those different E. coli . Whole-genome sequencing revealed three major types of mcr-1 -bearing plasmids, corresponding to IncI2, IncX4, and IncHI2 scaffolds. The occurrence of MCR-1-producing multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales in retail raw chicken is of great concern, considering the possibility of transmission to humans through the food chain.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited heart muscle disease, with a prevalence of at least 1 in 500 in the general population. The disease is pleiotropic and is characterized by an increased stiffness of the myocardium, partly due to changes in the extracellular matrix (ECM), with elevated levels of interstitial fibrosis. Myocardial fibrosis is linked to impaired diastolic function and possibly phenotypic heterogeneity of HCM. The ECM consists of a very large number of proteins, which actively interact with each other as well as with myocardial cells. The role of other multiple components of the ECM in HCM has not been defined. Fibulin-2 is a glycoprotein component of the ECM, which plays an important role during embryogenesis of the heart; however, its role in adult myocardium has not been adequately studied. We here describe, for the first time, abnormal expression of fibulin-2 in the myocardium in patients with HCM as compared to normal controls. This abnormal expression was localized in the cytoplasm of myocardial cells and in the interstitial fibroblasts. In addition, fibulin-2 levels, measured by ELISA, were significantly elevated in the serum of patients with HCM as compared to normal controls.

A new antibiotic, named seitomycin (1c), and the known microbial metabolite tetrangulol methyl ether (2) were found in the ethyl acetate extract of two terrestrial Streptomyces sp. isolates. The structure of the new antibiotic was elucidated by spectroscopic studies and by comparison of the NMR data with the structurally related hatomarubigin C (1a) and SM-196 B (1b). Seitomycin (1c) showed moderate antimicrobial and weak phytotoxic activity, similar to tetrangulol methyl ether (2).