Search Results (9)

Neuroimaging can provide significant benefits in evaluating patients with movement disorders associated with drugs. This literature review describes neuroimaging techniques performed to distinguish Parkinson’s disease from drug-induced parkinsonism. The dopaminergic radiotracers already reported to assess patients with drug-induced parkinsonism are [123I]-FP-CIT, [123I]-β-CIT, [99mTc]-TRODAT-1, [18F]-DOPA, [18F]-AV-133, and [18F]-FP-CIT. The most studied one and the one with the highest number of publications is [123I]-FP-CIT. Fludeoxyglucose (18F) revealed a specific pattern that could predict individuals susceptible to developing drug-induced parkinsonism. Another scintigraphy method is [123I]-MIBG cardiac imaging, in which a relationship between abnormal cardiac imaging and normal dopamine transporter imaging was associated with a progression to degenerative disease in individuals with drug-induced parkinsonism. Structural brain magnetic resonance imaging can be used to assess the striatal region. A transcranial ultrasound is a non-invasive method with significant benefits regarding costs and availability. Optic coherence tomography only showed abnormalities in the late phase of Parkinson’s disease, so no benefit in distinguishing early-phase Parkinson’s disease and drug-induced parkinsonism was found. Most methods demonstrated a high specificity in differentiating degenerative from non-degenerative conditions, but the sensitivity widely varied in the studies. An algorithm was designed based on clinical manifestations, neuroimaging, and drug dose adjustment to assist in the management of patients with drug-induced parkinsonism. Full article

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Interestingly, lncRNA-H19 acts independently in HCC and influences miR-675 expressions. We aimed to assess the potential utility of tissue lncRNA-H19 versus miR-675 expressions as a non-invasive biomarker for HCC diagnosis and prognosis in Egyptian patients. Ninety-one HCC patients and 91 controls included in this study were investigated for expression of lncRNA-H19 and miR675 using RT-qPCR. Our results showed that the expression of lncRNA-H19 and microRNA-675 were higher in patients than in controls (p < 0.001 for both). Additionally, lncRNA-H19 expression was higher in tumorous than in non-tumorous tissue (p < 0.001). Linear regression revealed that miR-675 expression was a significantly higher positive predictor than lncRNA-H19 for tumor size, pathologic grade, and AFP level; similarly, for cyclin D1 and VEGF protein expression. By using the ROC curve, the sensitivity of miR-675 was higher than lncRNA-H19 for discriminating HCC from controls (95–89%, respectively) and the sensitivity of lncRNA-H19 was higher in tumorous than in non-tumorous tissues (76%). The high expressions of both were associated with low OS (p < 0.001, 0.001, respectively). Oncofetal H19-derived miR-675 expression could be considered a potential noninvasive diagnostic and prognostic biomarker, outstanding the performance of the expression of tissue lncRNA-H19 for HCC. Full article

Slaughterhouse wastewater (SHWW) has a great potential to generate biomethane energy when subjected to anaerobic digestion (AD). Nonetheless, the process is susceptible and prone to failure because of slow hydrolysis and the production of inhibitory compounds. Accordingly, to address this deficiency, anaerobic co-digestion (ACoD) is used to improve the treatment efficiency of the monodigestion of this high-strength waste and thereby increase methane production. The current investigation utilized the biochemical methane potential (BMP) test to assess the treatment performance of co-digested SHWW with sugar press mud (SPM) for improving biomethane energy recovery. It was established that the ACoD of SHWW with SPM increased methane (CH₄) yield, enhanced organic matter removal efficiency and improved process stability, while also presenting synergistic effects. The anaerobic monodigestion (AMoD) of SHWW (100SHWW: 0SPM) showed a higher CH₄ yield (348.40 CH₄/g VS) compared with SPM (198.2 mL CH₄/g VS). The 80% SPM: 20% SHWW mix ratio showed the optimum results with regard to organic matter removal efficiency (67%) and CH₄ yield (478.40 mL CH₄/g VS), with increments of 27% and 59% compared with AMoD of SHWW and SPM, respectively. However, it is also possible to achieve 5% and 46% CH₄ yield increases under a 40% SPM: 60% SHWW mix proportion in comparison to the AMoD of SHWW and SPM, respectively. Furthermore, kinetic analysis of the study using a modified Gompertz model revealed that the CH₄ production rate increased while the lag time decreased. The synergistic effects observed in this study demonstrate that incorporating SPM into the substrate ratios investigated can improve the AD of the SHWW. In fact, this represents the environmental and economic benefits of successfully implementing this alternative solution. Bioenergy recovery could also be used to supplement the country’s energy supply. This would help to increase the use of cleaner energy sources in electricity generation and heating applications, reducing the greenhouse gas effect. Full article

The application of PGPB is considered a surrogate approach to reducing the amounts of phosphorus fertilizers applied in addition to its role in improving nutrient availability under stress conditions. The objective of this study was to evaluate five levels of calcium superphosphate (CSP); ultimately, CSP was applied in five levels: CSP₂₀, CSP₄₀, CSP₆₀, CSP₈₀, and CSP₁₀₀ were applied at 69, 138, 207, 276, and 345 kg ha⁻¹, respectively, and two treatments of Bacillus megaterium DSM 2894 (with and without) were applied on sweet potato (Beauregard cv.) plants grown in calcareous soils in the 2019 and 2020 seasons in Egypt. Some macro- and micronutrient (i.e., nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu)) uptake, antiradical power (ARP), and protein and total root yields (TRYs) were determined. The plants inoculated with B. megaterium DSM 2894 had increased leaf N, P, and Mn contents in both seasons; in addition, Ca was increased in the second season. Furthermore, all of the root nutrient contents (except N) as well as the ARP and TRY were increased in both seasons as compared with those of the noninoculated plants. On the other hand, the maximum values of the leaf Ca, Fe, and Cu contents and the root Ca, Fe, and Zn contents were recorded with the CSP₂₀ treatment in both seasons. CSP₆₀ was the superior treatment for N (in the leaves), Mn (in the roots), ARP, protein contents, and TRY in both seasons and for the leaf Zn content in the 2019 season. The application of the CSP₁₀₀ treatment gave the highest values for the leaf and root P contents and the root Cu contents in both seasons as well as for the leaf Mn content in the first season and the root N content in the 2020 growth season. Thus, it was concluded that the application of CSP₂₀, CSP₆₀, and CSP₁₀₀ treatments with the B. megaterium DSM2894 mixture gave the best values compared to the use of CSP or DSM2894 individually to attenuate CaCO₃-induced damage. Full article

Due to an extreme increase in population growth, Egypt suffers from a widening gap in the quantity of imported wheat compared with production and local consumption. Two field trials were conducted during the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 seasons with three levels of humic substances (HSs) as a foliar spray (1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 g L⁻¹; HS₁, HS₂ and HS₃) and three levels (5.04, 7.56 and 10.08 kg ha⁻¹; HS₄, HS₅ and HS₆) as a soil application. These were applied three times (30, 45 and 60 days after sowing) in comparison with the control (HS₀) to evaluate the performance of three wheat varieties (Seds1 (V₁), Misr2 (V₂) and Giza168 (V₃)) grown in clay loam soil. The experiment was set up according to the split-plot structure in a randomized complete block design; however, the varieties were set as the main plot and treatments were a sub-main plot. Generally, the data indicated that the soil application treatments recorded maximum values for most growth and yield attributes, except for spike length and grain weight per spike, SPAD reading and total grain yield in the first season, and leaf area and biological yield in the second season. HS_1, HS₂, HS₅, and HS₆ were the superior treatments for most of the nutrient contents studied. Regarding the influence of variety, the results showed that V₃ recorded maximum values for LA, SpL, TGW, TGY and leaf Zn and Cu contents in both seasons; PH, GWS and leaf N content in the first season; and SPAD reading, BY and leaf K, Fe and Mn contents in the second season. V₁ was the superior variety for GWS, BY, leaf K and Mn contents in the 2018/2019 season and PH, GNS in the second season, followed by V₂, which had the greatest values for leaf P contents in both seasons, and SPAD reading, GNS and leaf Fe content in the 2018/2019 season and GWS and leaf N content in the second season. Full article

The use of nano-fertilizers and antioxidants for specific crops to minimize the negative effect of abiotic stresses is imperative. Two field experiments were fulfilled during two summer seasons (2019 and 2020) to study the response of sweet potato (Beauregard cv.) plants grown in calcareous soil (CaCO₃ = 10.8–11.3%) to foliar nourishment with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) and ascorbic acid (ASA) applied individually or in a mixture. Both ZnONPs and ASA were applied in three doses: 0, 1000, or 1500 mg L⁻¹ for ZnONPs, and 0, 250 and 500 mg L⁻¹ for ASA. The highest values of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) contents were recorded in both seasons, while those of phosphorus (P) and copper (Cu) were recorded in the 2020 season with ZnONPs applied at 1500 mg L⁻¹. Furthermore, in both seasons, the maximum values of nutrient contents, excluding Mn content, were obtained with ASA applied at 500 mg L⁻¹. However, applying both ZnONPs and ASA in a mixture bypassed each applied alone, with the highest overall nutrient contents being recorded, with few exceptions, with the highest dose of the mixture. The trend of the tuber root nutrient contents was correlated with the corresponding values in the leaves. Maximum tuber root yield was obtained with foliar feeding with 1000 mg ZnONP and 250 mg ASA L⁻¹ in both seasons. The resulting data recommend the use of foliar nourishment with fertilizer nanoparticles and antioxidants to enable stressed plants to collect appropriate nutrient contents from the defective soils. Full article

The development of new antimicrobial strategies that act more efficiently than traditional antibiotics is becoming a necessity to combat multidrug-resistant pathogens. Here we report the efficacy of laser-light-irradiated 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(m-hydroxyphenyl)porphyrin (mTHPP) loaded onto an ethylcellulose (EC)/chitosan (Chs) nanocomposite in eradicating multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans. Surface loading of the ethylcelllose/chitosan composite with mTHPP was carried out and the resulting nanocomposite was fully characterized. The results indicate that the prepared nanocomposite incorporates mTHPP inside, and that the composite acquired an overall positive charge. The incorporation of mTHPP into the nanocomposite enhanced the photo- and thermal stability. Different laser wavelengths (458; 476; 488; 515; 635 nm), powers (5–70 mW), and exposure times (15–45 min) were investigated in the antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) experiments, with the best inhibition observed using 635 nm with the mTHPP EC/Chs nanocomposite for C. albicans (59 ± 0.21%), P. aeruginosa (71.7 ± 1.72%), and S. aureus (74.2 ± 1.26%) with illumination of only 15 min. Utilization of higher doses (70 mW) for longer periods achieved more eradication of microbial growth. Full article

Rosuvastatin calcium (Rsv) is an effective statin, with a potent antihyperlipidemic effect. However, it suffers poor bioavailability owing to its poor solubility. Thus; encapsulating Rsv into a nanovesicular structure could overcome this problem. The aim of this work is to investigate the potential of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) in enhancing the solubility of Rsv, using the quality by design (QbD) concept. A complete risk assessment study has been conducted, where the critical process parameters (CPPs), material attributes (MAs), and critical quality attributes have been identified using Ishikawa diagrams. Selected CPPs/MAs were screened and further upgraded to a 2⁴ full-factorial design to develop a design space with the optimized formula. The screened CPPs/MAs were tested on the particle size, the polydispersity index (PDI), the zeta potential (ζ-pot), and the entrapment efficiency (EE%). A comprehensive approach for Rsv nanovesicular carriers has been conducted, where the NLCs showed better results than the SLNs. The optimized formula was prepared with 3% total lipid content, 0.154% surfactant, and 9.4 mg drug. The optimized formula had a particle size of 310.5 nm, with 0.243 PDI, a ζ-pot of −24.7 mV, and an EE% of 93.87%, and showed a sustained release of the drug for up to 72 h. It successfully lowered total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein, and triglycerides, and elevated the levels of high density lipoprotein in rats, with better results as compared to the standard drug. Thus, a complete QbD study was conducted to explore experimental regions for many successful nanovesicular carriers for the enhancement of the solubility of poorly soluble drugs. Full article

Despite the high frequency of the zygomaticomaxillary complex (ZMC) fractures, there is no consensus among facial reconstructive surgeons regarding the best surgical management; thus, surgical choice for ZMC fractures is still challenging. This study included 40 patients with displaced ZMC fracture. Twenty patients were treated with open reduction and internal fixation (OR/IF) using two-point fixation technique (at infraorbital margin and zygomaticofrontal buttress region) and the remaining 20 patients were treated with OR/IF using three-point fixation technique (at frontozygomatic suture, infraorbital margin, and zygomatico maxillary buttress). The results of both types of ZMC fractures repair were then statistically compared. No statistical differences between the two types regarding malar eminence asymmetry; projection (forward displacement) and width (medial displacement) in axial CT; inferior displacement; superior displacement and width (medial displacement) in coronal CT; angle of displacement (outward displacement) in 3D CT; masseter and temporalis muscles power electromyography; actual duration of surgery; and patient satisfaction. On the other hand, the total cost of the used plates and screws was significantly higher with three-point repair than two-point repair (p = 0.003). Moreover, postoperative CT lateral zygoma displacement was statistically significantly better in three-point fixation. Two-point fixation modality for displaced ZMC fractures is as effective as three-point method in fixation and prevents postreduction rotation or clinical displacement with significantly lower cost. Full article