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Abstract Aim Pulp vitality is essential for tooth integrity. Following pulp exposure, choosing a suitable pulp-capping material is crucial to maintain pulp vitality. However, the reparative dentine bridge created by calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) is generally porous and incomplete. The aim of the current study is to assess the in vitro and in vivo bioactivities of nano eggshell-based slurry (NES), using NES as a direct pulp-capping material, compared with Ca(OH)2 in rabbit animal model. Methodology Nano eggshell powder (NE) was characterized for particle morphology, chemical composition and ion release. In vitro bioactivity was tested by immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 7?days. For histopathological evaluation, 36 adult New Zealand rabbits (72 pulp exposures) were divided into nine groups (n?=?8) according to the pulp-capping material (NES, Ca(OH)2 and no capping as negative control group) and the animals were sacrificed after 7, 14 or 28?days. The pulps of the two lower central incisors were exposed and then directly capped by Ca(OH)2 or NES or left untreated. The cavities were then sealed with glass ionomer cement. Teeth were collected for histopathological evaluation using an optical microscope. Pulp haemorrhage, inflammation, fibrosis and calcific bridge formation were assessed. Results were statistically analysed using anova and Tukey's tests. Results Nano eggshell particles were spherical with a 20?nm diameter and were composed mainly of calcite. Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant increase in the release of all investigated ions between days 1 and 28, except for copper. NES group showed a significantly higher release of all elements as compared to Ca(OH)2. Environmental scanning electron microscope micrographs of NES incubated for 7?days in SBF showed the formation of HAp with a Ca/P ratio (1.686). For histopathological evaluation, the difference between groups was statistically significant. At day 28, 75% of the pulps of the Ca(OH)2 group showed mild calcific bridge in comparison with 100% moderate calcific bridge in the NES group. The NES group showed significantly less inflammation at days 7 and 28, and higher fibrosis at day 7 compared with Ca(OH)2. Conclusions Nano eggshell-based slurry represents a promising novel direct pulp-capping material with favourable pulp tissue response.

Heat-shock-protein family A (Hsp70) member 5 (HSPA5), aliases GRP78 or BiP, is a protein encoded with 654 amino acids by the HSPA5 gene located on human chromosome 9q33.3. When the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was stressed, HSPA5 translocated to the cell surface, the mitochondria, and the nucleus complexed with other proteins to execute its functions. On the cell surface, HSPA5/BiP/GRP78 can play diverse functional roles in cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, attachments, and innate and adaptive immunity regulations, which lead to various diseases, including cancers and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, which caused the pandemic since the first outbreak in late December 2019. HSPA5, highly expressed in the malignant tumors, likely plays a critical role in SARS-CoV-2 invasion/attack in cancer patients via tumor tissues. In the current study, we review the newest research progresses on cell surface protein HSPA5 expressions, functions, and mechanisms for cancers and SARS-CoV-2 invasion. The therapeutic and prognostic significances and prospects in cancers and COVID-19 disease by targeting HSPA5 are also discussed. Targeting HSPA5 expression by natural products may imply the significance in clinical for both anti-COVID-19 and anti-cancers in the future. Copyright © 2023 Li, Fu, Cheng, Elfiky, Wei and Fu.

BackgroundTracheomalacia frequently develops in esophageal atresia patients (EA) especially in those with tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF). Conservative management has been the standard treatment; however, it was reported that delay in management could result in chronic lung conditions. Thus, early surgical interventions have been recently recommended.
Patients and Methods
We enrolled patients presented with type-C esophageal atresia, with concomitant moderate to severe tracheomalacia, who had their thoracoscopic intervention done during the study period 2019–2022. Early and intermediate- term outcomes were studied and compared to another cohort with mild or no tracheomalacia.
Results
During the allocated study period, 24 patients met the inclusion criteria for tracheopexy, but only 17 were followed up due to early demise of the other seven. During the follow-up period, 7/17 patients developed respiratory symptoms, which were attributed to esophageal stricture in 5 patients, recurrent TEF in 2 patients and one of them had residual tracheomalacia in addition to the developed recurrent TEF. The outcomes of the enrolled patients for tracheopexy were similar to those with no or mild tracheomalacia.
Conclusions
Primary posterior tracheopexy during the primary repair might be considered a safe and feasible option not only to alleviate respiratory symptoms secondary to tracheomalacia in EA patients, but also to decline the need of further surgical interventions. However, more comprehensive studies with long-term follow-ups are mandatory.

For three years, a large amount of manufactured pollutants such as plastics, antibiotics and disinfectants has been released into the environment due to COVID-19. The accumulation of these pollutants in the environment has exacerbated the damage to the soil system. However, since the epidemic outbreak, the focus of researchers and public attention has consistently been on human health. It is noteworthy that studies conducted in conjunction with soil pollution and COVID-19 represent only 4 % of all COVID-19 studies. In order to enhance researchers' and the public awareness of the seriousness on the COVID-19 derived soil pollution, we propose the viewpoint that “pandemic COVID-19 ends but soil pollution increases” and recommend a whole-cell biosensor based new method to assess the environmental risk of COVID-19 derived pollutants. This approach is expected to provide a new way for environmental risk assessment of soils affected by contaminants produced from the pandemic.

This study focuses on the importance of reliable surface wind forecasts for various sectors, particularly energy production. Traditional numerical weather prediction models are facing limitations and increasing complexity, leading to the development of machine learning models as alternatives or supplements. The research consists of two stages. In the first stage, the ERA5 database is used to evaluate the long-term performance of different combinations of features and two tree-based algorithms for predicting surface wind characteristics (speed and direction) in Cairo. The XGBoost algorithm slightly outperforms the Random Forest algorithm, especially when combined with appropriate feature selection. Even three years after the training period, the results remain very good, with an RMSE of 0.59 m/s, rRMSE of 17%, and R2 of 0.84. The second stage assesses the multivariate approach's ability to forecast wind speed evolution at different time horizons (1–12 h) during a week characterized by significant wind dynamics. The forecasts demonstrate excellent agreement with observations at a 1-h time horizon, with an RMSE of 0.35 m/s, rRMSE of 7.6%, and R2 of 0.98, surpassing or comparable to other literature results. However, as the time lag increases, the RMSE (0.86, 1.14, and 1.51 m/s for 3, 6, and 12 h, respectively) and rRMSE (18.7%, 24.8%, and 32.9% for 3, 6, and 12 h, respectively) also increase, while R2 decreases (0.86, 0.79, and 0.60). Furthermore, the wind variations' amplitude is underestimated. To address this bias, a simple correction method is proposed.

Starch content is one of the major quality criteria targeted by potato breeding programs. Traditional potato breeding is a laborious duty due to the tetraploid nature and immense heterozygosity of potato genomes. In addition, screening for functional genetic variations in wild relatives is slow and strenuous. Moreover, genetic diversity, which is the raw material for breeding programs, is limited due to vegetative propagation used in the potato industry. Somaclonal variation provides a time-efficient tool to breeders for obtaining genetic variability, which is essential for breeding programs, at a reasonable cost and independent of sophisticated technology. The present investigation aimed to create potato somaclones with an improved potential for starch accumulation. Based on the weight and starch content of tubers, the somaclonal variant Ros 119, among 105 callus-sourced clones, recorded a higher tuberization potential than the parent cv Lady Rosetta in a field experiment. Although this somaclone was similar to the parent in the number of tubers produced, it exhibited tubers with 42 and 61% higher fresh and dry weights, respectively. Additionally, this clone recorded 10 and 75% increases in starch content based on the dry weight and average content per plant, respectively. The enhanced starch accumulation was associated with the upregulation of six starch-synthesis-related genes, namely, the AGPase, GBSS I, SBE I, SBE II, SS II and SS III genes. AGPase affords the glycosyl moieties required for the synthesis of amylose and amylopectin. GBSS is required for amylose elongation, while SBE I, SBE II, SS II and SS III are responsible for amylopectin.

Background: The lack of anti-COVID-19 treatment to date warrants urgent research into potential therapeutic targets. Virtual drug screening techniques enable the identification of novel compounds that target the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Main Protease (Mpro). Objective: The binding of the halogenated compounds to Mpro may inhibit the replication and transcription of SARS-CoV-2 and, ultimately, stop the viral life cycle. In times of dire need for anti-COVID-19 treatment, this study lays the groundwork for further experimental research to investi-gate these compounds' efficacy and potential medical uses to treat COVID-19. Methods: New heterocyclic compounds were synthesized through the first reaction of cyclohexane-1, 3-dione (1a) or dimedone (1b) with trichloroacetonitrile (2) to give the 2,2,2-trichloroethylidene) cyclohexane-1,3-dione derivatives 3a and 3b, respectively. The latter compounds underwent a series of heterocyclization reactions to produce biologically active compounds. Results: Novel compounds, including fused thiophene, pyrimidine and pyran derivatives, were synthesized and tested against human RNA N7-MTase (hRNMT) and selected viral N7-MTases such as SARS-CoV nsp14 and Vaccinia D1-D12 complex to evaluate their specificity and their molecular modeling was also studied in the aim of producing anti-COVID-19 target molecules. Conclusion: The results showed that compounds 10a, 10b, 10c, 10e, 10f, 10g and 10h showed high % inhibitions against SARs-Covnsp 14. Whereas compounds 5a, 7a, 8b, 10a, 10b, 10c and 10i showed high inhibitions against hRNMT. This study explored the binding affinity of twenty-two halogenated compounds to the SARS-CoV-2 MPro and discovered fifteen compounds with higher binding affinity than Nelfinavir, of which three showed remarkable results. c-Met kinase inhibitions of 10a, 10f, 10g and 10h showed that all compounds exhibited higher inhibitions than the reference Foretinib. © 2023 Bentham Science Publishers.

Land use changes profoundly affect the equilibrium of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions. With the current global climatic changes, it is vital to understand the influence of ecological restoration and conservation management on the dynamics of SOC under different land uses, especially in erosion-endangered Loess soils. Therefore, we investigated changes in SOC through a suit of labile fractions, namely: light fraction organic C (LFOC), heavy fraction organic C (HFOC), coarse particulate organic C (CPOC), fine particulate organic C (FPOC), and dissolved organic C (DOC), from two forests i.e., Robinia pseudoacacia (RP) and Platycladus orientalis (PO), with different ages, in comparison with farmland (FL). The SOC and STN contents significantly increased over 42 years in the RP forest where the contents of CPOC and FPOC were significantly higher than in the FL. Moreover, total SOC and its labile fractions, in the studied land use types, significantly correlated with soil CaCO3, pH, and STN contents, indicating their key roles in SOC sequestration. The results reported here from different vegetation with different ages provide a better understanding of SOC and STN alterations at different stages of vegetation restoration. Our findings suggest that long-term natural vegetation restoration could be an effective approach for SOC sequestration and soil conservation on the Loess soil.