Manzala Lake, as one of the main Egyptian wetland ecosystems, is facing risks of pollution. An in vitro cytotoxicity
test using a mammalian cell line was employed to determine the toxicity of multiple pollutants in the water and
Tilapia zillii fish sampled from the lake. The concentrations of seven polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and ten
polychlorinated dibenzofurans were investigated in water and muscle of the fish in 2014. Cytotoxicity testing
showed that the percentage inhibition of cell viability in the studied sites ranged between 56.16% and 83.22%.
Dioxin analysis indicated that the average concentrations of 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9-octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin,
1,2,3,4,7,8-hexachlorodibenzofuran, 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptachlorodibenzofuran and 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9-octachlorodibenzofuran
were higher than the toxic equivalence quotients (TEQs) set by the World Health Organization (WHO) in all water
and fish muscle samples; however, the average concentration of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran was higher only
in fish muscle samples. The bioaccumulation factor (BAF) ranged dramatically between 2 and 58.5 for the detected
dioxins. Adverse human health effects through the consumption of fish are not expected, because dioxin levels in
fish muscle are deemed safe for human consumption. Implementation of a strategic multidisciplinary action plan is
strongly recommended to sustain this delta wetland ecosystem.

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer in men and women is considered the leading cause for cancer-related mortality worldwide. Anti-cancer peptides represent a potential untapped reservoir of effective cancer therapy.

METHODOLOGY: Box-Behnken response surface design was applied for formulating Alendronate sodium (ALS)-mastoparan peptide (MP) nanoconjugates using Design-Expert software. The optimization process aimed at minimizing the size of the prepared ALS-MP nanoconjugates. ALS-MP nanoconjugates' particle size, encapsulation efficiency and the release profile were determined. Cytotoxicity, cell cycle, annexin V staining and caspase 3 analyses on A549 cells were carried out for the optimized formula.

RESULTS: The results revealed that the optimized formula was of 134.91±5.1 nm particle size. The novel ALS-MP demonstrated the lowest IC50 (1.3 ± 0.34 μM) in comparison to ALS-Raw (37.6 ± 1.79 μM). Thus, the results indicated that when optimized ALS-MP nanoconjugate was used, the IC50 of ALS was also reduced by half. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated a significantly higher percentage of cells in the G2-M phase following the treatment with optimized ALS-MP nanoconjugates.

CONCLUSION: The optimized ALS-MP formula had significantly improved the parameters related to the cytotoxic activity towards A549 cells, compared to control, MP and ALS-Raw.

Introduction

Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), a complex treatment strategy for intensity-modulated radiation therapy, may increase treatment efficiency and has recently been established clinically. This analysis compares VMAT against established IMRT and 3D-conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT) delivery techniques.
Methods

Based on CT datasets of 9 patients treated for prostate cancer step-and-shoot IMRT, serial tomotherapy (MIMiC), 3D-CRT and VMAT were compared with regard to plan quality and treatment efficiency. Two VMAT approaches (one rotation (VMAT1x) and one rotation plus a second 200° rotation (VMAT2x)) were calculated for the plan comparison. Plan quality was assessed by calculating homogeneity and conformity index (HI and CI), dose to normal tissue (non-target) and D95% (dose encompassing 95% of the target volume). For plan efficiency evaluation, treatment time and number of monitor units (MU) were considered.
Results

For MIMiC/IMRTMLC/VMAT2x/VMAT1x/3D-CRT, mean CI was 1.5/1.23/1.45/1.51/1.46 and HI was 1.19/1.1/1.09/1.11/1.04. For a prescribed dose of 76 Gy, mean doses to organs-at-risk (OAR) were 50.69 Gy/53.99 Gy/60.29 Gy/61.59 Gy/66.33 Gy for the anterior half of the rectum and 31.85 Gy/34.89 Gy/38.75 Gy/38.57 Gy/55.43 Gy for the posterior rectum. Volumes of non-target normal tissue receiving ⩾70% of prescribed dose (53 Gy) were 337 ml/284 ml/482 ml/505 ml/414 ml, for ⩾ 50% (38 Gy) 869 ml/933 ml/1155 ml/1231 ml/1993 ml and for ⩾ 30% (23 Gy) 2819 ml/3414 ml/3340 ml/3438 ml /3061 ml. D95% was 69.79 Gy/70.51 Gy/71,7 Gy/71.59 Gy/73.42 Gy. Mean treatment time was 12 min/6 min/3.7 min/1.8 min/2.5 min.
Conclusion

All approaches yield treatment plans of improved quality when compared to 3D-conformal treatments, with serial tomotherapy providing best OAR sparing and VMAT being the most efficient treatment option in our comparison. Plans which were calculated with 3D-CRT provided good target coverage but resulted in higher dose to the rectum.
Keywords

Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT);
Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT);
Sequential tomotherapy;
Prostate cancern/a

BACKGROUND: The safety of Deltamethrin (DM) has been raised as a point of concern. The current investigation was envisaged to explore the responsiveness of oxidative stress parameters, DNA fragmentation and expression levels of TP53, cycloxygenase 2 (COX2) and cytochrome p4502E1 (CYP2E1) as toxicological endpoint in rats treated with DM. as well as attention was provided to the neuroprotective effect of vitamin E (VE).

METHODS: Four different groups of rats were used in this study, group I served as control, group II received DM (0.6 mg/kg BW), group III received both DM plus VE and finally group IV received VE only (200 mg/kg BW). The treatment regimen was extending for one month for all groups and the brain tissues were collected for further analysis.

RESULTS: The obtained results showed a highly statistically significant increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) content, nitric oxide concentration, and DNA fragmentation percentage and expression level of CYP2E1, TP53 and COX2 genes, in addition statistical significant reduction in total antioxidant capacity in DM treated group as compared to control were detected. Oral administration of VE attenuated the neurotoxic effects of DM through improvement of oxidative status, DNA fragmentation percentage and suppressing the expression level of CYP2E1, TP53 and COX2 genes.

CONCLUSION: From this study we concluded that VE supplementation has beneficial impacts on DM neurotoxicity in rats through its antioxidant and antiapoptotic properties.

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a heterogeneous immunologic disorder. Vitamin D has immune-modulatory effects. The pleiotropic effects of vitamin D are exerted via vitamin D receptor (VDR) and its genetic alterations could influence its functions. In our study, we measured the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in 98 Pediatric and Adolescent ITP patients, in addition to 100 apparently healthy controls. Genetic polymorphisms of the VDR gene FokI, BsmI, ApaI, and TaqI were tested using specific restriction enzymes for each polymorphism. Vitamin D deficiency in the studied Pediatric age was a dominant factor, but it was found not to be associated with Pediatric ITP. However, patients carrying the FokI CC genotype had statistically higher vitamin D levels compared with those carrying other genotypes (P=0.036). Patients who were carriers of the BsmI G allele had a nearly 2-fold higher risk of ITP (odds ratio: 2.203; 95% confidence interval: 1.467-3.309). Therefore, the BsmI polymorphism of VDR could be considered a molecular risk factor for ITP.