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Abstract The current study had aimed to assess the long-term dietary supplementation with Melaleucae aetheroleum, tea tree essential oil (TTO). The impact on growth performance, biochemical indices, immune function, oxidant/antioxidant activity, gene expression, histopathology, and resistance against Aeromonas sobria in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was investigated. Four groups (with five replicates; G1 (control group, G2, G3, and G4) of Nile tilapia received diets enriched with TTO (doses of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mL/kg diet) for 60 days, then fish were challenged by A. sobria. Outcomes indicated an extensive elevation in growth metrics (final body weight, weight gain, SGR, feed intake and fish body protein). Similarly, the total blood protein, albumin, total globulin levels, Serum complement-3 levels, lysozyme activity, immunoglobulin M (IgM), nitric oxide, and phagocytic activity were significantly enhanced in all treatments, notably in the 2.0 mL TTO/kg fed groups compared to the control. Lower levels of urea, creatinine, AST, ALP, ALT, cortisol, glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol and body crude lipids were observed in the fish that were fed a 2.0 mL TTO/kg diet. Supplementing TTO at 2.0-mL /kg diet revealed the best results for elevating CAT, SOD, and GSH activities plus declining MDA value in hepatic homogenate. Additionally, dietary 2.0-mL TTO/kg showed the best outcomes for the intestinal morphometry plus maintaining the histological picture in spleen and liver. Concurrently, fish that were fed a 2.0 mL TTO/kg diet exhibited a substantial upregulation of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-10, TFG-β, IFN-γ and BCL-2 genes in the liver, while, caspase-3, and BAX were downregulated. Furthermore, TTO-enriched diets enhanced the relative percentage survival post-A. sobria challenge plus enhanced the clinical picture in a dose-dependent manner. Taken together, the findings revealed that long-term exposure to dietary TTO fortified the physiological performance, oxidant/anti-oxidant stability, immune function, gene expression, histological picture, and resistance of Nile tilapia against A. sobria.

Background Ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction is the leading cause of pediatric hydronephrosis. While open pyeloplasty is highly effective, a small proportion of children experience recurrent ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) necessitating repeat intervention. We aimed to identify potential risk factors for pyeloplasty failure.Methods We prospectively followed 126 children undergoing open Anderson-Hynes pyeloplasty between 2019 and 2021. Demographic, clinical, anatomical, procedural, and postoperative variables were recorded. Patients were monitored for recurrence, defined as worsening hydronephrosis and/or symptoms with diuretic renogram confirmation. Univariate and multivariate analysis identified factors associated with recurrence.Results Median age at pyeloplasty was 17 months, left side was affected in 58% and 73.8% were male. At mean 28.8 months follow-up, UPJO recurred in 9 patients (7%). The only factor significantly associated with recurrence was prolonged postoperative urinary drain leakage, specifically recurrence occurred in 50% (3/6) of cases with prolonged leakage versus 5% (6/120) without (p = 0.005).Conclusions Open pediatric pyeloplasty has a high success rate, yet a minority of patients will experience recurrence necessitating re-intervention. Prolonged urine leakage was the sole predictor of failed repair in our cohort, likely due to inflammation and perianastomotic scarring. Meticulous surgical technique and prompt leak management are vital to optimize pyeloplasty outcomes. Children at higher risk warrant close monitoring to enable early detection and renal salvage.

Context Asthma presents a global health challenge. The main pharmacotherapy is synthetic chemicals and biological-based drugs that are costly, and have significant side effects. In contrast, use of natural products, such as onion (Allium cepa L., Amaryllidaceae) in the treatment of airway diseases has increased world-wide because of their perceived efficacy and little safety concerns. However, their pharmacological actions remain largely uncharacterized.Objective We investigated whether onion bulb extract (OBE) can (1) reverse established asthma phenotype (therapeutic treatment) and/or (2) prevent the development of the asthma phenotype, if given before the immunization process (preventative treatment).Materials and methods Six groups of male Balb/c mice were established for the therapeutic (21 days) and five groups for the preventative (19 days) treatment protocols; including PBS and house dust mite (HDM)-challenged mice treated with vehicle or OBE (30, 60, and 100 mg/kg/i.p.). Airways inflammation was determined using cytology, histology, immunofluorescence, Western blot, and serum IgE.Results Therapeutic (60 mg/kg/i.p.) and preventative (100 mg/kg/i.p.) OBE treatment resulted in down-regulation of HDM-induced airway cellular influx, histopathological changes and the increase in expression of pro-inflammatory signaling pathway EGFR, ERK1/2, AKT, pro-inflammatory cytokines and serum IgE.Discussion and Conclusion Our data show that OBE is an effective anti-inflammatory agent with both therapeutic and preventative anti-asthma effects. These findings imply that onion/OBE may be used as an adjunct therapeutic agent in established asthma and/or to prevent development of allergic asthma. However, further studies to identify the active constituents, and demonstrate proof-of-concept in humans are needed.

The development of effective and innovative vaccination strategies is urgently needed to better control the spread and transmission of the low-pathogenic avian influenza H9N2 subtype (LPAI-H9N2) in poultry. In addition, the enhancement of innate immunity by some of these innovative inactivated vaccines has not yet been investigated. Here, an experiment was conducted in commercial broiler chickens to compare the immune response to two different inactivated H9N2 vaccines. For this, Group 1 (G1) broilers were vaccinated with vaccine 1 [Nobilis® H9N2-P (pathogen-associated molecular patterns—PAMP) technology], broilers in G2 were vaccinated with vaccine 2 [an inactivated whole H9N2 virus (IWV) autogenous oil emulsion vaccine], while birds in G3 were not vaccinated. The study lasted 34 days. Innate immune parameters (phagocytic activity, nitric oxide, and lysozyme), cytokine signaling (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8), humoral immunity using the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test, and the gene expressions of IFN-γ and TLR-21 were assessed. The results showed a significant increase in innate immunity and modulatory cytokines at 24–48 h after the vaccination of G1 broilers, with a continuous increase until the end of the experiment. In addition, a significant increase in geometric mean HI titers was observed in G1 at 11 days post-vaccination (dpv), and a significant (p ˂ 0.05) upregulation of IFN-γ and TLR-21 was observed in the same group, G1, at 31 dpv compared to G2 and G3. Nobilis® H9N2-P may induce faster and stronger innate and active humoral immunity compared to another IWV, which may contribute to the protection of broilers against early H9N2 infections. However, challenge protection studies for several IWV vaccines, including PAMP-H9N2 against LPAI-H9N2, should be further evaluated in both specific pathogen-free (SPF) and commercial broilers.

This study explores the Petrov–Galerkin method’s application in solving a linear fourth-order ordinary beam equation of the form u″″+qu=fu^{\prime\prime} ^{\prime\prime} +qu=f. The equation entails two distinct boundary conditions: pinned–pinned conditions on uu and u′u^{\prime} , and clamped–clamped conditions on uu and u″{u}^{^{\prime\prime} }. To satisfy these boundary conditions, we have built two sets of basis functions. The explicit forms of all spectral matrices were reported. The nonhomogeneous boundary conditions were easily handled using perfect transformations, ensuring the numerical solution’s accuracy. Detailed analysis of the method’s convergence was studied. Some numerical examples were presented, accompanied by comparisons with other existing methods in the literature.

Background and Aim: The emergence of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains poses a significant threat to healthcare settings. Although various studies have explored alternative antibiotics, discovering novel therapeutic agents remains crucial. This study aimed to synthesize green silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as bactericidal agents, identify a multidrug-resistant isolate of Staphylococcus aureus, and explore their biofilm formation ability. To estimate the role of phyto-AgNPs in the perfection of immune markers and healing hepatic lesions in vivo. Materials and Methods: The clinical isolate of MRSA was identified using 16S rRNA New green AgNPs derived from Artemisia annua extract were synthesized. The nanoparticles (NPs) were characterized, and their minimum inhibitory concentration was estimated for fighting MRSA biofilm. A study was conducted on rats to evaluate the effect of new NPs on their immune response to MRSA infection. Results: The new clinical isolate of MRSA RM-Ph8 was identified by molecular phylogenetic analysis as S. aureus, and 16S rRNA sequence analysis confirmed that the new strain was similar to S. aureus with 98.12% identity with accession number OQ421819. The FTIR of the new phyto-AgNPs displayed different functional groups that work as reducing silver nitrate agents. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images showed spherical particles with an average diameter of 6–28 nm smaller. The chemical method led to complete cell destruction of the multidrug strain within 24 h. Biofilm formation showed that the new MRSA clinical strain was strongly adherent (88%). Notably, the phyto-AgNPs exhibited significant bactericidal activity against the new MRSA strain, with an MIC of up to 50 mg/mL. Moreover, phyto- AgNPs significantly decreased reversed MRSA-induced liver and kidney function impairment, with improvement in both the histopathological lesions and immune histochemical expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and inducible nitric oxide synthase at p < 0.05 compared with the untreated group. Conclusion: Green AgNPs are a promising therapeutic approach against multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, surpassing the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics.

Objectives: Obesity in children with Down syndrome (DS) has negative implications for behavior. The aim was to assess the influence of weight reduction by diet modification with and without physical therapy sessions on adaptive behavior and some biochemical measures in children with DS with obesity. Methods: The study included 100 children with DS (56 males, 44 females; age range: 6-9 (8.5 ± 1.7) years. They were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, and the Vineland adaptive behavior scale. They were randomly divided into two groups: Group I underwent nutritional modification, and Group II was subjected to an added exercise program. The biochemical measures were estimated using the automated chemistry analyzer for blood chemistry (lipids), or ELISA. Results: An elevation of behavioral adaptive scores was noticed after the weight reduction, together with a reduction in the levels of triglycerides and an elevation of high-density lipoprotein-C levels. Levels of interleukin I, interleukin 6, and leptin were reduced in both groups. However, the improvement regarding the estimated measures was greater in Group II (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Weight reduction in children with DS was beneficial for their adaptive behavior and for adjusting dyslipidemia, along with some measures of inflammation. Combining physical activity with nutritional modification would help in the better advancement of the health and adaptive behavior of children with DS associated with obesity compared with isolated nutritional modification.

Lysozymes, efficient alternative supplements to antibiotics, have several benefits in poultry production. In the present study, 120, one–day–old, Ross 308 broiler chickens of mixed sex, were allocated into 2 equal groups, lysozyme treated group (LTG) and lysozyme free group (LFG), to evaluate the efficacy of lysozyme (Lysonir®) usage via both drinking water (thrice) and spray (once). LTG had better (p = 0.042) FCR, and higher European production efficiency factor compared to LFG (p = 0.042). The intestinal integrity score of LTG was decreased (p = 0.242) compared to that of LFG; 0.2 vs. 0.7. Higher (p ≤ 0.001) intestinal Lactobacillus counts were detected in chickens of LTG. Decreased (p ≤ 0.001) IL-1β and CXCL8 values were reported in LTG. The cellular immune modulation showed higher (p ≤ 0.001) opsonic activity (MΦ and phagocytic index) in LTG vs. LFG at 25 and 35 days. Also, higher (p ≤ 0.001) local, IgA, and humoral, HI titers, for both Newcastle, and avian influenza H5 viruses were found in LTG compared to LFG. In conclusion, microbial lysozyme could improve feed efficiency, intestinal integrity, Lactobacillus counts, anti-inflammatory, and immune responses in broiler chickens.

In this research, an experimental study was carried out to investigate the failure modes of eight frames with IPE cross-sections. The study was conducted by subjecting these frames to two equal concentrated loads (applied directly on columns); however, the resulted data was obtained using load cells to record load increments. Comparison between experimental and theoretical results was tabulated by analyzing the eight portal frames using the following methods: 1- Quasilinear analysis. 2- Non-linear material analysis. 3- Codes AISC ASD, and AISC LRFD. For non-linear material analysis, direct tensile and stub column tests were performed to obtain the secant modulus as a function of plastic energy density. A mathematical formula was designed for this purpose using a special computer program. Moreover, a comparison of "AISC LRFD & AISC ASD" with the experimental results were implemented. Furthermore, the non-linear material model was also applied to these Codes. Linear analysis gives a reasonable approximation to deflections before yield occurs. Calculation of buckling loads for different frames using Euler formula, ASD, and finite element quasilinear analysis are significantly overestimate the experimental results. Whereas, incorporating the non-linear material model into the above mentioned methods of analysis brings the values very close to the experimental results.