Avian influenza (H5N1) (AI) is becoming a serious public health threat in Egypt. The
current study aimed to assess the existing knowledge, attitudes, and various practices
regarding AI in household backyard poultry breeders residing in Fayoum Governorate,
in rural Egypt.
Material and methods
Of the 149 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 51 have been fatal. This study was
implemented in El Gendy and Manshat Abdllah villages in Fayoum Governorate. The
latter village is the one in which a case of AI was confirmed in February 2007. A group
of 150 women aged 15 years and above were recruited. A structured Arabic
questionnaire was used to collect data.
Results
All interviewed women (N= 150) had heard about AI. TV\radio was the common
source of information (83.3%). Nearly all interviewed women knew that AI is
transmitted from birds to humans (99%). Most of the participants (490%) correctly
identified saliva, nasal secretions, feces, and contaminated vehicles as the modes of AI
transmission. The knowledge regarding biosecurity measures (470%) and measures
of prevention (490%) was generally good. More than 90% of the interviewed
housewives agreed that AI is a serious disease that can be prevented, and that sanitary
precautions during breeding and food preparation practices are effective measures for
prevention of AI infection. Protective measures such as the use of gloves and masks,
which minimize the risk of transmission of AI from poultry to humans, were seldom used
by housewives in all their breeding, slaughtering, and cooking practices. However,
washing hands either with water or with soap and water was reported by the vast
majority of the respondents (490%).
Conclusion and recommendation
There was a good level of knowledge and favorable attitude of the study participants
regarding AI; however, practices appear to be inadequate to achieve full protection
against AI. Comprehensive and multidisciplinary interventions should be widely used to
enhance the complex behavior change process among the village residents

Aim of the work: To evaluate the associations of serum 25 hydroxy (OH) vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels with cardiovascular risk factors as well as disease activity in women with SLE. Patients and methods: Fifty women with SLE as well as 30 controls were included in our study. Data collected included, demographics, SLE activity and damage assessments, cardiovascular risk factors, medications and laboratory assessment of inflammatory markers and 25(OH)D levels. Stepwise logistic regression analysis were used to estimate the association of 25(OH)D levels with cardiovascular risk factors. Results: A significant lower 25(OH)D levels was found in SLE patients compared to controls (P <0.001). A positive correlation was found between 25(OH)D and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, BMI, as well as proteinuria and C3 levels. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between 25(OH)D and the RT carotid artery stenosis and RT carotid artery plaque and the intima media thickness of both left and right carotid arteries. Lower 25(OH)D levels were also significantly associated with higher SLE disease activity and damage scores and steroid cumulative dose. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that higher BMI, diastolic blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL and diabetes mellitus act as predictors of lower 25(OH)D levels. Conclusion: Our study found an association between lower 25(OH)D levels and increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, as well as increased SLE disease activity and damage indices. Future studies are needed to determine relation of 25(OH)D and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with lupus.

1-amino-9, 10-anthraquinone, AAQ, was electropolymerized on platinum substrates either from aqueous or non-aqueous electrolytes. The aqueous electrolyte was 6.0 mol L-1 H2SO4 and the non-aqueous solvent was acetonitrile containing lithium perchlorate, LiClO4, as supporting electrolyte. The formed polyaminoanthraquinone, PAAQ, was stable and the polymerization process was reproducible. The kinetics of the electropolymerization process was investigated by determining the charge consumed during the electropolymerization as a function of time at different concentrations of the electrolyte components. The results of chronoamperometry have been used to determine the orders of reaction. In either aqueous or non-aqueous solution, the electropolymerization process follows first order kinetics with respect to the monomer concentration. In non-aqueous solution, the very small concentrations of water did not affect the order of reaction. The order of reaction with respect to the traces of water and the supporting electrolyte concentration was found to be zero. In aqueous solution the order of the electropolymerization reaction with respect to the concentration of H2SO4 was found to be negative (-0.66) which means that the aqueous electrolyte inhibits the polymerization reaction.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The initial step in atherosclerosis is the adhesion of leukocytes to activated endothelial cells mediated by intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). This study aimed to investigate the association of K469E polymorphism of the ICAM-1 gene and soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1) serum level with coronary heart disease (CHD) in Egyptian subjects.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Using a case-control design, we studied 100 patients with CHD, including 73 patients with acute myocardial infarction (MI) and 27 with unstable angina (UA). The control group consisted of 50 healthy subjects with normal left ventricular function. All participants were genotyped for the ICAM-1 polymorphism by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Serum sICAM-1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA).

RESULTS: In CHD patients, the frequencies of K genotype (KK and EK) were significantly higher when compared to controls (P<.001) and were associated with an increased risk of disease development (OR=3.8, 95% CI: 1.7 to 8.5; P=.001). K genotype frequencies in patients with MI showed no significant difference when compared to patients with UA (P= .121). Serum sICAM-1 levels were comparable between CHD patients and controls (P= .37) and between MI and UA patients (P=.23). There were no significant differences in sICAM-1 levels among patients with different genotypes (P=.532). Men presented with higher sICAM-1 levels than women (P=.004).

CONCLUSION: ICAM-1 gene polymorphism in codon 469 is associated with a risk for CHD development in Egyptian subjects. Serum sICAM-1 is not influenced by this polymorphism and is not necessarily elevated in CHD.

The maturity of Knowledge Engineering (KE) theory and practice presents a real opportunity for advancing the state-of-the-art and state-of-the-practice in software Product-line Engineering (PLE). Several challenges that face the adoption and implementation of PLE in practice can be addressed by exploiting advanced technique from KE. This paper introduces the concept of KOPLE and describes the related one-day workshop that will be held in conjunction with SPLASH 2010.