Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive chronic neurodegenerative condition characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra. Current PD therapeutic strategies are mainly symptomatic and can lead to motor complications overtime. As a result, alternative medicine may provide an effective adjuvant treatment for PD as an addition to or as a replacement of the conventional therapies. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of Bee Venom (BV) and dopamine (DA)-loaded nanoparticles in a reserpine-induced animal model of PD. After inducing PD with reserpine injection, different groups of male rats were treated with L-Dopa, BV, DA-nanoparticles. Our findings showed that BV and DA-nanoparticles administration restored monoamines, balanced glutamate/GABA levels, halted DNA fragmentation, decreased pro-inflammatory mediators (IL-1β and TNF-α), and elevated anti-inflammatory mediators (PON1) and neurotropic factor (BDNF) levels in comparison with conventional therapy of PD. Furthermore, in a reserpine-induced PD rat model, the ameliorative effects of BV were significantly superior to that of DA-nanoparticles. These findings imply that BV and DA-nanoparticles could be useful as adjuvant treatments for PD.

Parasites often cause serious outbreaks of disease in farmed fish. The present study is the first to describe the antiparasitic efficacy of Acriflavine on Oreochromis niloticus parasitized with Centrocestus formosanus metacercariae and Trichodina centrostrigeata protozoa. A total of 550 O. niloticus suffering from respiratory distress were collected from a fish farm. Clinical and parasitological examinations of 150 fish revealed a mixed infestation with Centrocestus formosanus and Trichodina centrostrigeata. The median lethal dose (LC50) of Acriflavine (5, 10, 25, 50, & 100 mg/L) was calculated against 160 healthy O. niloticus. Results revealed that the 12 h and 96 h LC50 of Acriflavine was 114.61 and 35.196 mg/L. Further, an experimental design consisting of three fish groups was used to assess the efficacy of Acriflavine (10 mg/L, long-term bath) against Centrocestus formosanus- and Trichodina centrostrigeata-infested fish; the first group was treated with Acriflavine (treated fish), the second group was not treated (nontreated fish) and the third group was healthy fish (negative control). Acriflavine was effective against Centrocestus formosanus and Trichodina centrostrigeata, reducing the mean intensity of parasites by 91.1% and 95.6%, respectively, compared with infested fish (nontreated). Moreover, treated fish exhibited restoration of normal gill histoarchitecture and normal central cartilaginous support after treatment. Treated O. niloticus also showed significant downregulation of inflammatory-related enzyme (Cox-2) and pro-inflammatory cytokine (IL-1ß) genes compared with infested fish, as well as a significant reduction in lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels. Acriflavine provides a safe and efficient treatment for controlling Centrocestus formosanus metacercariae and Trichodina centrostrigeata protozoans, improving the health, productivity and welfare of Oreochromis niloticus.

PURPOSEAs cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway.PATIENTS AND METHODSThis international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19–free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation).RESULTSOf 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19–free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19–free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score–matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19–free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76).CONCLUSIONWithin available resources, dedicated COVID-19–free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks.

The emergence of carbapenem-resistant (CRKP) isolates in Egyptian hospitals has been reported. However, the genetic basis and analysis of the plasmids associated with carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent (CR-HvKP) in Egypt have not been presented. Therefore, we attempted to decipher the plasmid sequences that are responsible for transferring the determinants of carbapenem resistance, particularly and Out of 34 isolates collected from two tertiary hospitals in Egypt, 31 were CRKP. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that our isolates were related to 13 different sequence types (STs). The most prevalent ST was ST101, followed by ST383 and ST11. Among the CRKP isolates, one isolate named EBSI036 has been reassessed by Nanopore sequencing. Genetic environment analysis showed that EBSI036 carried 20 antibiotic resistance genes and was identified as a CR-HvKP strain: it harbored four plasmids, namely, pEBSI036-1-NDM-VIR, pEBSI036-2-KPC, pEBSI036-3, and pEBSI036-4. The two carbapenemase genes and were located on plasmids pEBSI036-1-NDM-VIR and pEBSI036-2-KPC, respectively. The IncFIB:IncHI1B hybrid plasmid pEBSI036-1-NDM-VIR also carried some virulence factors, including the regulator of the mucoid phenotype (), the regulator of mucoid phenotype 2 (), and aerobactin ( and ). Thus, we set out in this study to analyze in depth the genetic basis of the pEBSI036-1-NDM-VIR and pEBSI036-2-KPC plasmids. We report a high-risk clone ST11 KL47 serotype of a CR-HvKP strain isolated from the blood of a 60-year-old hospitalized female patient from the intensive care unit (ICU) in a tertiary care hospital in Egypt, which showed the cohabitation of a novel hybrid plasmid coharboring the and virulence genes and a -carrying plasmid. CRKP has been registered in the critical priority tier by the World Health Organization and has become a significant menace to public health. The emergence of CR-HvKP is of great concern in terms of both disease and treatment. In-depth analysis of the carbapenemase-encoding and virulence plasmids may provide insight into ongoing recombination and evolution of virulence and multidrug resistance in Thus, this study serves to alert contagious disease clinicians to the presence of hypervirulence in CRKP isolates in Egyptian hospitals.

Infectious cutaneous diseases are very common, especially in certain geographic and tropical regions. Sometimes they may simulate other dermatoses, ordering verification of diagnosis with particular investigations. Dermoscopy is among one of the most important tools readily available in the outpatient setting for the dermatologist to confirm the diagnosis. In this up-to date review, literature concerning the various dermoscopic features of parasitic, viral, dermatophytic and bacterial cutaneous infections is composed. In addition artefacts as well as practical issues in dermoscopy usage are discussed; with the aim to empower dermatologists to promptly and non-invasively diagnose and manage cutaneous infections and infestations.