Despite that the conventional CSiMn TRIP steel has a promissing mechanical attributes, it has a limitations on the galvanizability of such grades of steel due to Silicon. Thus, aluminum as a strong candidate for substituting silicon has been introduced in this study accompanied by vanadium as a microalloying element. Microstructure of the studied steel was observed by using OM, and SEM. X-ray diffraction analysis, and tent-etching technique carried out on the studied steel to identify the fractions of the retained Austenite after thermal mechanical process, as well as its morphology. In addition, the mechanical properties in term of strength, ductility, strain hardening, and the rate of strain hardening were studied to define the influenced parameters throughout this alteration. The results refer to the possibility of complete replacement of silicon in TRIP steel with aluminum at the presence of vanadium as a micro alloying element.

The prevalence and biological consequences of deleterious germline variants in urothelial cancer (UC) are not fully characterized. We performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) of germline DNA and 157 primary and metastatic tumors from 80 UC patients. We developed a computational framework for identifying putative deleterious germline variants (pDGVs) from WES data. Here, we show that UC patients harbor a high prevalence of pDGVs that truncate tumor suppressor proteins. Deepening somatic loss of heterozygosity in serial tumor samples is observed, suggesting a critical role for these pDGVs in tumor progression. Significant intra-patient heterogeneity in germline-somatic variant interactions results in divergent biological pathway alterations between primary and metastatic tumors. Our results characterize the spectrum of germline variants in UC and highlight their roles in shaping the natural history of the disease. These findings could have broad clinical implications for cancer patients.

El-Salam canal water is planned to cultivate an acreage of 400,000 acre-1 located in north Sinai. In the present study, chemical (pH, EC, DO, BOD, COD, NH 4 , NO 2 , NO 3 , Ca, Mg, Na, K, SAR, Cd, Cu, Fe, Zn) and bacteriological (total bacteria, total and faecal coliforms) analyses were related to the permissible limits of FAO, WHO and Mediterranean countries for irrigation water. Representatives of pathogen and PGPR isolates were secured from the canal water and rhizospheres of some plants cultivated in El-Qantara Shark fields irrigated with such water. Based on biochemical properties and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the pathogens were identified as Escherichia fergusonii, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Shigella sonnei while PGPR were belonging to Bacillus altitudinis, Brevibacillus brevis, Paenibacillus xylanexedens and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. These strains did possess the ability to produce the plant growth accelerating compounds, abscisic acid (15.0-45.0 µg/ 100ml), cytokinins (1.2-90.2 µg/100ml), gibberellins (2.7-4.0 mg/100ml), indole acetic acid (73.0-203.0 µg/100ml), and polysaccharides (1.1-5.6 mg/ml). They successfully antagonized the pathogen E. fergusonii in nutrient agar culture media. The lettuce growth traits were found to be PGPR inoculation-dependent rather than irrigation water type-dependent.

Side effects of antiviral therapies for hepatitis C, especially hematologic abnormalities, may decrease both therapeutic adherence and therapeutic success rate. Adherence to therapy is essential to achieve an early viral response (EVR), and this is vital for attaining a sustained viral response (SVR). Discontinuation of anti-viral therapy is the only way to prevent progressive thrombocytopenia; however, discontinuation of therapy may reduce the rate of viral clearance and SVR. Our aim is to study effects of antiviral therapy for HCV on platelet count. One hundred sixty eight adult patients with chronic hepatitis C were enrolled in this study and subcategorized into 3 groups: group (1) contains 56 patients receiving IFN, ribavirin and sofosbuvir (triple therapy); group (2) contains 55 patients receiving ribavirin and sofosbuvir (SOF/RBV); and group (3) contains 57 patients receiving simeprevir and sofosbuvir (SIM/SOF). HCV RNA by PCR were checked basically for all studied patients. Follow-up platelet count was done weekly during the first month then monthly till end of treatment. Follow-up of platelet count decrement was assessed at the 2nd week, 4th week and end of antiviral therapy for all studied groups. We found that in the 2nd week and 4th week, most of patients (76.2%, 71.4%) showed platelet count decrement during antiviral therapy. The decrement of platelet at the 2nd week, 4th week and at end of treatment was much noticed with the SOF/RBV antiviral therapy studied group. None of the patients developed severe thrombocytopenia; none of the patients needed to stop antiviral therapy due to thrombocytopenia, only 6 patients needed dose modification, most of them were from the triple therapy group. We concluded that thrombocytopenia in chronic HCV infection has a multifactorial pathophysiology and remains a major problem. The recent change in direct-acting antiviral therapy (DAA) without IFN, as the frontline therapy for HCV, permit to avoid the dilemmas associated with initiating or maintaining IFN-based antiviral therapy. DAAs, with high SVR and few haematological adverse effects, have been shown to improve thrombocytopenia associated with HCV infection as well as advanced hepatic disease.

Introduction : Apricot ( Prunus armeniaca L.) has been widely used for the treatment of several disorders such as liver diseases, but the hepatoprotective and anticancer activities of its seeds were not studied before. In this study, we evaluated the pharmacological effects of apricot seeds extracts and amygdalin on prevention of liver damage and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods : Amygdalin contents of apricot seeds in ethanolic extracts were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) then, the ethanolic apricot seeds extract and amygdalin were evaluated for its hepatoprotective activity against carbon tetrachlorideinduced hepatotoxicity and anticancer activity against N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA)- induced hepatocarcinogenesis. Results : The amount of amygdalin was 5.72 g and 10.22 g/100 g extract for 70% and 99.9% ethanolic apricot seeds extracts, respectively. Pretreatment of the rats with 70% and 99.9% ethanolic apricot seeds extracts (100 mg/kg), amygdalin and silymarin (50 mg/kg) prevented elevation in liver function parameters such as alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) caused by carbon tetrachloride injection with significant increase in albumin, total proteins, and no effect on total direct bilirubin when compared to those in hepatotoxic group. Both extracts also showed anticancer activity against hepatocellular carcinoma via diminishing the elevated serum levels of AST, ALT, ALP, total, direct bilirubin, albumin, total proteins, alpha-fetoprotein, malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) and elevating the decreased hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH) level when compared with NDEA- intoxicated group. Conclusion : Apricot seeds possess hepatoprotective and anticancer activities that justify its traditional use, and its potential for the treatment of liver diseases including hepatocellular carcinoma

Objective: A study was made to validate two previously derived lung injury prediction scores (LIPS) for the prediction of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in high risk intensive care patients, with the incorporation of C-reactive protein (CRP) for improving score accuracy. Design: A prospective, observational cohort study was carried out. Patients: A total of 200 patients with APACHE II score ≥15 and at least one ARDS risk factor upon ICU admission were included. Interventions: Calculation of LIPS using formulas developed by Cartin-Ceba et al. (2009) and Trillo-Alvarez et al. (2011) (LIPS-2009 and LIPS-2011). C-reactive protein was measured upon admission (CRP-0) and after 48 h (CRP-48). Main variables of interest: Independent variables: LIPS-2009, LIPS-2011 and CRP values. Dependent variable: development of ARDS. Results: Eighty-eight patients (44%) developed ARDS after a median (Q1–Q3) of 2.5 (1.3–6.8) days. The LIPS-2009 and LIPS-2011 scores were 4 (3–6) and 5 (3.6–6.5) in ARDS patients compared to 2 (1–4) and 3.5 (1.5–4.5) in non-ARDS patients (p < 0.001). CRP-48 was 96 (67.5–150.3) mg/L and 48 (24–96) mg/L in the two groups, respectively (p < 0.001). ΔCRP (i.e., CRP-48 minus CRP-0) was significantly higher in the ARDS patients (p < 0.001). The AUC was 0.740 and 0.738 for LIPS-2011 and LIPS-2009, respectively – the difference being nonsignificant (p = 0.9, 0.9 and 0.8 for pairwise comparison of the different ROC curves). Integrating ΔCRP with LIPS-2011 using binary logistic regression analysis identified a new score (LIPS-N) with AUC 0.803, which was significantly higher than the AUC of LIPS-2011 (p = 0.01). Conclusions: Both LIPS scores are equally effective in predicting ARDS in high risk ICU patients. Integrating the change in CRP within the score might improve its accuracy.

Burkholderia cepacia complex (BCC) have recently received a reasonable attention as one of the major risks in susceptible pharmaceutical products. This microorganism can easily spread and cause severe contamination especially to the water stations for pharmaceutical companies. It rapidly grow within the product and cause cystic fibrosis and septicemia in humans.The traceability of the sources of contamination of pharmaceutical non-sterile aqueous preserved products and how to control it during the manufacturing operations as it is concern with the public health.
: The samples collected for the analysis were taken from different sources provided from the pharmaceutical company such as: aqueous finished products, filling machines, preparation tanks and water stations, identified by API 20NE, Vitek 2 compact system and 16S rRNA.
: From 213 different samples of finished product, 22 bacterial isolates had been identified as Burkholderia cepacia group. Raw materials and primary packaging materials did not result in any bacterial isolates while the machine surfaces and preparation tanks were contaminated. From 384 pharmaceutical water samples, 35 isolates were identified as B.cepacia.
Our study suggests that the chlorine treatment and hydrogen peroxide have a significant effect on B.cepacia in water disinfection.

Over the past decades, the extensive use of pyrethroids insecticides for vector control has resulted in the development of insecticide resistance. Cytochrome P450 has been recognized to play a critical role in the metabolic detoxification of insecticides. In the current study, Culex pipiens mosquitoes were collected from Giza Governorate in Egypt and tested for insecticide susceptibility against deltamethrin. First detection of Knockdown resistance gene (Kdr) mutations in field collected mosquitoes was performed. Activities of cytochrome oxidase P450 detoxification enzyme that synchronized with the resistance development, was assessed. Expression profiles of cytochrome P450s and their putative corresponding regulating miRNAs, which was previously reported in Cx. pipiens pallens were evaluated in pyrethroid resistant field-collected Cx. pipiens using RT-qPCR and stem-loop RT-qPCR, respectively. Specific stem-loop reverse transcription primers and forward primers were designed for miRNAs profiling. Our results elucidated the pyrethroid resistance development and revealed its relation to the metabolic and target site modification mechanisms with a first report of L1014F-kdr mutation detection. RT-qPCR results have showed an up-regulation in the expression of the studied P450 transcripts. Negative correlations were found between the expression of P450s and their regulatory miRNAs except for CYP9J35, where positive correlation was found with its corresponding miR-13. Interestingly, our data was the first to detect negative correlation between miR-285 and its putative CYP6Cp1 target gene. These findings highlighted the significance of identifying P450 gene along with regulatory miRNAs as a key mechanism implicated in pyrethroid resistance in field Culex vector population. The elucidation of this mechanism would shed light on the development of insecticide resistance and would help in shaping strategies to combat such vectors.

Background & AimsHuman genetic polymorphism has been reported in the susceptibility and clinical development of infection. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the link between Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism and H. pylori infection.
Materials and Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted on 224 adult patients with upper gastrointestinal symptoms who underwent an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy between July 2017 and May 2019 in two major university hospitals. All patients were evaluated for helicobacter pylori infection. Two gastric antral biopsy specimens were taken from each patient. One of those Biopsy specimens was evaluated for histopathology examination and the other one was immersed in a saline solution ready for genomic DNA extraction.
Results
There were statistically significant differences between different genotypes of VDR rs7975232 polymorphism between H. pylori infected and non-infected groups (CC was higher in H. pylori negative and AC and AA were the most common in H. pylori positive group). There were statistical differences between different genotypes of VDR rs2228570 between H. pylori infected and non-infected groups (TT was higher in H. pylori negative and CT and CC were the most common in H. pylori positive group). Regarding VDR rs 7975232 gene polymorphisms; the (A) allele was significantly higher H. pylori infected, while (C) allele was significantly higher in uninfected patients. Regarding VDR rs 2228570 gene polymorphisms; the (C) allele was significantly higher H. pylori infected, while (T) allele was significantly higher in uninfected patients.
Conclusion
There is a possible association between the FokI and Apal VDR polymorphism and H. pylori infection.

Stem/progenitor cells are undifferentiated cells characterized by their exclusive ability for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation potential. In recent years, researchers and investigations explored the prospect of employing stem/progenitor cell therapy in regenerative medicine, especially stem/progenitor cells originating from the oral tissues. In this context, the regeneration of the lost dental tissues including enamel, dentin, and the dental pulp are pivotal targets for stem/progenitor cell therapy. The present review elaborates on the different sources of stem/progenitor cells and their potential clinical applications to regenerate enamel, dentin, and the dental pulpal tissues.

The exploration of new sources of L-asparaginase with low glutaminase activity is of great interest in both medical and food applications. In the current study, a novel L-asparaginase gene (CobAsnase) from halotolerant Cobetia amphilecti AMI6 was cloned and over-expressed in Escherichia coli. The enzyme had a molecular mass of 37 kDa on SDS-PAGE and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis revealed that CobAsnase is a homotetramer in solution. The purified enzyme showed optimum activity at pH and temperature of 7 and 60 °C, respectively, with obvious thermal stability. It exhibited strict substrate specificity towards L-asparagine with no detectable activity on L-glutamine. Pre-treatment of potato slices by CobAsnase prior to frying reduced the acrylamide contents in the processed chips up to 81% compared with untreated control. These results suggest that CobAsnase is a potential candidate for applications in the food industry for mitigation of acrylamide formation in fried potato and baked foods.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is known for its multiple benefits including improvement of growth, increasing lean mass, and anti-carcinogenic effects. However, when used in long-term supplementations CLA does not improve semen parameters in boar and bull and reduces fertility in Japanese quails. The content of unsaturated fatty acids in dietary lipids plays a significant role in spermatogenesis owning the high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in plasma membrane of sperms. Whether CLA plays a role in testicular tissue and epididymal fat is still unknown. Therefore, in this study we hypothesize that long-term supplementation of equal proportion of CLA isomer mix (c9,t11-CLA and t10,c12- CLA) in rabbit bucks might alter male reproductive potentials. Twelve V-Line weaned male rabbits were used in 26 weeks trial, rabbits were individually raised and randomly allocated into three dietary groups. Control group (CON) received a basal diet, a group received 0.5% CLA (CLA 0.5%), and a group received 1% CLA (CLA 1%). Rabbits were euthanized at the end of the trial and several parameters were evaluated related to growth, semen quality, and testicular and epididymal tissue histopathology and transcriptome. The long-term supplementation of CLA increased feed intake by 5% and body weight by 2–3%. CLA 1% decreased sperm progressive motility. In testicular tissue L-carnitine and α-tocopherol were decreased by CLA supplementation. In epididymal fat, CLA tended to decrease concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the expression of SCD5 gene was upregulated by CLA 1% and CASP3 gene was upregulated by CLA 0.5%. Transcription of PPARG was downregulated by CLA. Feeding 1% CLA also decreased testicular epithelial thickness. Long-term supplementation of CLA modestly enhanced male rabbit growth, but negatively impacted male reproduction, especially at high dose of CLA.

Rationale During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, there were many challenges facing practices in different medical specialties. Objectives Maintain medical and educational services provided by Cardiology Department at the required standards amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We described our experience in restructuring various strategies and activities and developing adaptive measures to cope with the crisis. Results and Conclusion Multiple considerations and self-adjusting adaptations are mandated in challenging situations like the COVID-19 crisis. Exchanging experiences is needed to improve performance in similar future situations.

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Most vaginal births are associated with trauma to the perineum. The morbidity associated with perineal trauma can be significant, especially when it leads to third- and fourth-degree perineal tears. We hypothesized that antenatal perineal massage could decrease the incidence of perineal trauma, particularly severe perineal tears and other postpartum complications. METHODS: We searched four different databases from inception until August 2019 for the available trials. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which assessed the effect of antenatal perineal massage (intervention group) versus control group (no antenatal perineal massage) in perineal trauma patients. Data were extracted from eligible studies and meta-analyzed using RevMan software. Primary outcomes were the risk of episiotomies and perineal tears. Secondary outcomes were perineal pain, second stage of labor duration, wound healing, anal incontinence, and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min. RESULTS: Eleven RCTs with 3467 patients were analyzed. Women who received antenatal perineal massage had significantly lower incidence of episiotomies (RR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.72, 0.87], p < 0.001) and perineal tears (RR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.67, 0.94], p = 0.007), particularly the risk of third- and fourth-degree perineal tears (p = 0.03). Better wound healing and less perineal pain were evident in the antenatal perineal massage group. Antenatal perineal massage reduced the second stage of labor duration (p = 0.005) and anal incontinence (p = 0.003) with significant improvement in Apgar scores at 1 and 5 min (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Antenatal perineal massage is associated with a lower risk of severe perineal trauma and postpartum complications.

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