Diagnostic sensitivity of arginase, alpha-1 antitrypsin and alpha-fetoprotein in hepatitis patients

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are common liver diseases that lead to death in Egypt, especially in men. The current study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity of arginase (ARG) activity, alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the sera of patients with HCV (with & without viremia) and HCC. A total of 190 men classified as 40 healthy used as control (G1), 100 infected with HCV (subdivided into 50 with viremia (G2) and 50 without viremia (G3), and 50 with HCC (G4). The activity of ARG significantly decreased in HCV and HCC groups along with significant elevation in the level of AAT and AFP as compared with the control. Although a non-significant variation was scored in AST/ALT, significant differences were observed among AST/ARG and ARG/ALT in the pathogenic groups as compared with the healthy group. Moreover, significant variations in ARG, AAT, AFP, AST/ARG, and ARG/ALT were observed between viremia and non-viremia. Although AFP scored significant change among the viremia and HCC, the rest parameters scored non-significant changes between both groups. Furthermore, a receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) showed the diagnostic ability for the selected parameters with high sensitivity and multiple linear regressions exhibited good associations between those parameters. These findings suggest the using possibility of ARG, AAT, and AFP in the diagnosis and/or follow-up of patients with HCV or HCC.

The effect of Qatada (Acacia hamulosa) honey from Saudi Arabia on the steps of pilonidal sinus healing

The purpose of this study was to provide more light on the effect of Qatada (Acacia hamulosa) honey from Saudi Arabia as a dressing on pilonidal sinus wound healing, antibacterial activity, and cytokine levels. The results revealed that the pH of 3.56 of tested honey, where glucose was 378 mmol/l also the specific gravity was 1.435, while contents of total phenolic and flavonoid and DPPH activity (32.15 mg GAE/100 g honey), (54.27 mg RE/100 g honey) and (127.83 mg/ml) respectively. The mean duration of pilonidal sinus wounds to be ready for surgical closure was 43.5 days in the control (standard dressing) group where the honey dressing group was 28.5 days. Less pain, edema, and foul-smelling discharge were expressed in the honey group if compared with the standard dressing group. The total bacterial count was 9 × 109 at the begging of the experiment then it reduced after the application of standard dressing traditional therapy to (9 ×105) and honey treatment group (9 ×102) after 21 days post-treatment. Significant reduction (p<0.05) was observed in serum TNFα(-52), IL6 - 46), and IL-17 (-60) relatively to pre-treatment values. Based on our findings, we may conclude that Qatada honey bioactivities aided wound healing by increasing tissue growth while decreasing overall bacterial count and inflammation.

Identification of pathogen bacteria from camel (Camelus dromedarius) mastitis and investigation of antibiotic susceptibility

The scope of this study was to investigate the presence of pathogenic bacteria in milk from female camels with mastitis and to select antibiotics for treatment with antibiotic susceptibility testing. A total of 40 milk samples taken from 20 dromedarian females, after application of CMT test and determination of SCC values, the camels were diagnosed with subclinical mastitis. Milk samples were inoculated into blood agar for identification of bacterial agents leading to mastitis. A total of 4 (12.5%) Staphylococcus aureus, 4 (12.5%) S. auricularis, 2 (6.25%) S. pettenkoperi, 2 (6.25%) S. cohnii spp. cohnii, 2 (6.25%) S. equorum, 2 (6.25%) S. capitis, 2 (6.25%) Streptococcus agalactiae, 2 (6.25%) S. dysgalactiae, 4 (12.5%) Escherichia coli, 2 (%) 6.25) Pseudomonas pseudalcaligenes, 2 (6.25%) Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, 2 (6.25%) Aerococcus viridans and 2 (6.25%) Gemella morbillorum were identified. Gram-positive bacteria were sensitive to Levofloxacin, Linezolid and Tetracycline and Daptomycin, resistant to Beta lactam-group antibiotics and macrolides. Vancomycin resistance was determined in S. aureus and S. cohnii spp. cohnii strains. Gram-negative strains are found generally susceptible to Cefepime and Pipersilin; resistant to Trimethoprim-sulfomethoxazole and Amoxicillin-Clavulanic acid. As a result, it is recommended to use antibiotic use to prevent the development of antimicrobial resistance as well as mastitis control methods such as the prevention of infection and monitoring the health status of the mammary of camels.

ANN-based diagnosis method for skin cancers using dermoscopic images

Melanoma is one of the most dangerous skin cancers in the world. It accounts for 55% of all deaths associated with skin cancer. Researchers believe that skin cancer increases the risk of other cancers if not diagnosed early. Therefore, prompt and timely diagnosis of this disease is very important for the successful treatment of the patient. This system can detect melanoma lethal carcinoma from other skin lesions without the need for surgery, with a low cost, accuracy of about 98.88% and specificity 99%. In this article, a new, intelligent and accurate software (Delphi) system has been used to diagnose melanoma skin cancer. To detect malignant melanoma, the ABCDT rule, asymmetry (A), boundary (B), color (C), diameter (D) and textural variation (T) of the lesion are calculated and finally, an artificial neural network (ANN) is used to obtain an accurate result. The ANN with Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) contains the five extraction Characteristics (ABCDT) of lesions is used as inputs, two hidden layers, and two outputs. Very good results were obtained using this method. It was observed that for a dataset of 180 dermoscopic lesion images including 80 malignant melanomas, 20 benign melanomas and 80 nevus lesions. Due to its automatic recognition and ability to be installed on a computer, this system can be very useful for dermatologists as well as the general public.

Natural Anophelin mosquito repellents and phytochemical analysis of ethanol and hexane leaf extracts from four plant species

Currently mosquitoes control is the cornerstone to minimize the rising number of mosquito borne diseases. There is an urgent need looking for alternatives to the current reliance on synthetic insecticides for the vectors control. Application of active toxic agents from plant extracts as an alternative control strategy was available from ancient times. These are non-toxic, easily available at affordable prices, biodegradable and show broad-spectrum target-specific activities against different species of vectors. Natural products with repellency properties are urgently needed. An insect repellent works by masking human scent, and a number of natural and synthetic mosquito repellents were studied. The main aim of this study was to identify the phytochemicals and compare their potentials as mosquito repellents from the ethanol (Et. OH) and hexane (hex) leaf extracts (LEs) of Ocimum basilicum, Coleus forskohlii, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Cymbopogon flexuosus under laboratory conditions at 50 and 100% concentrations. Phytochemical analysis showed that alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, terpenes, tannins and terpenoids were present/or absent in the 4 plant-LEs. At 50% concentration of Et. OH extracts, C. forskohlii exhibited higher repellency potential on Anopheles gambiae with protection time of 137.3 min, while O. basilicum, E. camaldulensis and Cy. flexuosus registered protection time of 30.6, 15.3 and 19 min, respectively. At 100% concentration of ethanol- extracts, C. forskohlii caused the highest protection time against the vector with protection time of 182 min. O. basilicum, E. camaldulensis and Cy. flexuosus were equally less potent against the insect, with protection time 42.6, 32.6 and 28 min, respectively. Regarding hex-extract, at 50% concentration of C. forskohlii, the highest repellency potential , with protection time of 174 was registered, while O. basilicum, E. camaldulensis and Cy. flexuosus registered protection times of 44, 18 and 28.6 min, respectively. However, the 100% concentration of Et. OH-extracts of, C. forskohlii and O. basilicum exhibited the highest protection time, with protection times of 228 and 116min, respectively. E. camaldulensis and Cy. flexuosus were less potent, with protection times 28.6 and 54.6 min, respectively. The EOs of C. forskohlii and O. basilicum L EOs proved to have potentials as repellency agents against Anopheles. GC-MS analysis of the extracts identified the compounds of both solvents extracts and the terpens were the major compounds. According to the results, further studies are required, especially on the extracts of basil and coleus since they proved to be effective.

Effect of weather parameters on growth stages of winter maize explain the grain yield

A study was conducted on research farm of National Maize Research Program (NMRP), Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal during winter season of 2015/16 laid out in split-split plot design with three replications consisting of two FYM levels (FYM at 10 t ha-1 and no FYM application), three nitrogen levels (100, 75 and 50% N of recommended dose P and K remaining constant) and two levels of seed inoculation (Azotobacter chrococcum seed inoculation and no inoculation) with Rampur-2 maize hybrid in Nepal. One of the major factor affecting maize production is weather and this paper is prepared to assess the suitability of weather condition at different growth stages of winter season hybrid maize in condition of western Chitwan, Nepal at NMRP. The result shows that the requirement of the maize crop during different growth stages i.e. temperature, rainfall, relative humidity were fulfilled which helped to obtain remarkably higher grain yield (4.26 t ha-1) in the experiment compared to average national grain yield (2.84 t ha-1) of maize

COVID-19 symphony: A review of possible music therapy effect in supporting the immune system of COVID-19 patient

Coronavirus, the current pandemic that takes lives of 1,936,632 until the time of the paper. Scientists over the world exhibited all efforts to fight the virus. Many supplements developed to fight coronavirus by supporting the immune system which is the strongest worrier against it for now. One of the neglected strategies to enhance immunity is music therapy. Music therapy can drive immunity into different conditions. Not only able to boost and suppress immunity but also many physiological and psychological diseases are treated with music therapy. It is more than just entertainment, and research shows that music therapy may be helpful and cost-effective to support standard therapy. This systemic review tries to explore the effect of music therapy and arrives at a conclusion suggesting routine procedures to support the patient with music therapy. However, the idea of using music therapy in improving the immune system must undergo clinical and medical confirmation to be used

Variability and relationships between characters of physic nut (Jatropha curcas L.) in Burkina Faso

Jatropha curcas is a highly promising species for biodiesel production in Burkina Faso and other countries in the tropics. It is rustic, grows in warm regions and is easily cultivated. These characteristics and high-quality oil yields from the seeds have made it a priority for biodiesel programs. Consequently, this plant merits genetic investigations aimed at improving yields. The present study was conducted to determine the extent of genetic variability and relationships among 30 accessions from Burkina Faso using 7 qualitative characters and 20 quantitative characters. For most of the traits, there were highly significant differences among the accessions. A positive and significant correlation between the 100-seed weight trait and the oil content trait was observed. The oil content trait is significantly and positively influenced by growth traits such as plant height and crown diameter. Based on the petiole base pigmentation, three morphotypes were identified: green morphotype, purple morphotype and brown morphotype. The green morphotype was characterized by very high oil content and high 100-seed weight while the brown morphotype presents low oil content and low 100-seed weight. The purple morphotype registered a high oil content and medium 100-seed weight. These results are important for the continuity of breeding programs, aimed at obtaining cultivars with high grain yield and high oil content in seeds.

Comprehensive analysis of the gene expression profile of wheat at the crossroads of heat, drought and combined stress

Heat and drought are among the leading environmental stresses which have a major impact on plant development. In our research, identification and characterization of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) regulating the response of wheat to drought, heat and combined stress was carried out. We analyzed data from the Gene Expression Omnibus database (GEO) microarrays containing 24 samples of wheat, which were categorized by different treatments (control: ctrl, drought: D, heat: H, and mixed: HD). Significant DEGs were examined for gene annotation, gene ontology, co-expression, protein-protein interaction (PPI) and their heterogeneity and consistency through drought, heat and combined stress was also studied. Genes such as gyrB, C6orf132 homolog, PYR1 were highly associated with wheat response to drought with P-value (-log10) of 9.3, 7.3, 6.4, and logFC of -3.9, 2.0, 1.6, respectively. DEGs associated with drought tolerance were highly related to the protein domains of lipid-transfer (LTP). Wheat response to heat stress was strongly associated with genes such as RuBisCO activase B, small heat shock, LTP3, YLS3, At2g33490, PETH with p-values (-log10) ranging from 9.3 to 12.3. In addition, a relatively high number of protein interactions involved the SDH, PEPCK, and G6PD genes under heat stress.

Macrophytes as a potential tool for crop production by providing nutrient as well as protection against common phyto pathogen

Applications of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides lead to several environmental hazards, causing damages to entire ecosystem. To reduce damage caused by such chemical inputs in agriculture and environment required a serious attention for replacement of chemicals input with eco-friendly options. In this study decaying macrophytes were selected as an option for organic agriculture, by analyzing its ability to provide important mineral nutrient to the maize crop grown in low nutrient soil as well as for providing resistant towards many common phyto-pathogens to enhance yield. The results of the study showed that decaying macrophytes have high concentration of stored important mineral nutrient in their body mass, which get released in the soil during its decay and to be used by the maize plant. The decaying macrophytes leaf extract have considerable amount of phenolic and flavonoids also having antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobial activity of the leaf extract has been analyzed against the common phyto-pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa , and S. aureus by agar disc method and the formation of clear zone indicate its potential as bio-control agent. So under intensive agricultural practices, application of such biological waste is of particular importance for enhancing soil fertility without chemical input, to ensure sustainable agriculture.