Role of Tamsulosin in Improving Double-J Ureteric Stent-Related Symptoms

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of tamsulosin in improving stent- related symptoms and quality of life (QoL) in patients with double-J (DJ) ureteric stents.Subjects and Methods: A total of 136 patients were prospectively evaluated and distributed randomly in two groups. Group 1 was 69 patients with mean age 35 years (range 20-56) and Group 2 was 67 patients with mean age 29 years (range 19-42). In Group 1, 43 cases had lower and 26 had upper ureteric stones. In Group 2, 47 patients had lower and 20 had upper ureteric stones. Ureteroscopic lithotripsy was performed in all patients and a DJ stent (6F, 26cm) was inserted post-operatively for about 4 weeks. Group 1 received tamsulosin 0.4mg orally once per day for 4 weeks. The patients were evaluated with the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) which consists of seven questions, three for irritative and four for obstructive symptoms. QoL was assessed with the QoL section of the IPSS and the short form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire which assesses patients in eight domains, including physical functioning, role limitations due to physical health or emotional disorders, vitality, mental health, social functioning, pain and general health.Results: The IPSS irritative and obstructive symptom scores as well as the QoL scores were significantly lower in Group 1 than Group 2 (p<0.031). The SF-36 role limitation due to physical health and pain scores were  significantly better in Group 1 than Group 2 (p<0.027). There were no significant differences in any other parameters. Five patients with  tamsulosin (7.2%) had side-effects in the form of headache and dizziness and the rest of the patients had no side-effects related to tamsulosin.Conclusion: The administration of a selective alpha1 blocker, such as tamsulosin improves ureteric stent-related urinary symptoms after ureteroscopy and disintegration of ureteric stones

Modeling and Analysis of Pavement-Vehicle Interaction Dynamics for Pavement Distress Prediction

Increased road traffic combined with heavy vehicle loads lead to deterioration and distress of pavements and consequently reduces the life span of the paved roads. As a result, large amounts of financial and labor resources are spent every year to improve and maintain road infrastructures around the world. Traditionally, vehicle and pavement dynamics are treated as two separate areas of research. However, they are strongly coupled together through their contact points. Thus, one of the major concerns is to develop a more reliable dynamic pavement-vehicle interaction model to investigate and evaluate accurately both vehicle and pavement responses, and also to examine the pavement distress due to the severity of traffic loads. One of the most important distress modes in pavements is fatigue cracking. Despite the fact that there have been considerable efforts in recent years in fatigue performance evaluation and the design of flexible pavements, there is still a need for further studies in predicting fatigue cracking in terms of damage distribution considering the uncertainty and variability associated with the input parameters of pavement-vehicle interaction and traffic load repetitions. The main objective of this research study is to carry out an in-depth investigation of the dynamics of the pavement-vehicle interaction and the effect of coupling action on system response, as well as fatigue study of the pavement due to repeated traffic loads. The response of the pavement-vehicle coupled system supported by a linear visco-elastic foundation has been investigated. The vehicle is modeled as a two-degree-of-freedom quarter-vehicle model, and the pavement-foundation system is described by a simply supported Euler-Bernoulli beam resting on Pasternak foundation, while the tire is coupled to the flexible pavement with a single point contact. Galerkin method has been utilized to develop the governing differential equations of motion. Direct numerical integration approach based on implicit Newmark linear average acceleration technique has been used to solve the governing differential equations in order to evaluate the response of the coupled system. Results have been validated with previous research work and also compared with those of conventional uncoupled system. The effects of different parameters such as vehicle speed, road roughness, soil stiffness and suspension damping on the responses are then investigated. For the fatigue study of flexible pavements, a methodology, for modeling pavement damage and predicting fatigue cracking of flexible pavements is presented. The methodology is based on the combination of deterministic method and stochastic approach using Palmgren-Miner’s hypothesis in which Poisson process is employed to characterize the actual repetitions of traffic load. Different models are then presented to estimate the fatigue life of the pavement surface layer. The results are compared and discussed

Mapping topology of three-dimensional of three layers woven fabrics "Same direction in Face & back"

The main objective of this research is to innovation a method of design, simulation and virtual display for three layers woven Jacquard fabrics stitches systems of mapping topology of fabrics

Sildenafil citrate for the management of asymmetrical intrauterine growth restriction and its effect on umbilical artery Doppler

Background: Asymmetrical intrauterine growth restriction IUGR occurs when there is uteroplacental insufficiency. Sildenafil citrate phosphodiasterase-5 inhibito is a potent vasodilator, which selectively inhibits phosphodiesterase-5 and, as a consequence, enhances the action of cyclic guanosine monophosphate which is the second messenger of NO. Hence, the trial was used for improving uteroplacental perfusion through enhancing vasodilatation of myometrial small arteries boosting flow within uteroplacental bed. The aim was to evaluate the efficacy of adding sildenafil citrate to low dose aspirin in treatment of asymmetrical IUGR through its effect on uteroplacental blood flow guided by Doppler ultrasound.Methods: Our study was a prospective double-blinded, randomized, controlled trial. Recruitment of participating women was from the obstetric outpatient clinic of Aswan university hospital. 100 patients included in the study and randomized in two groups. The first group was 50 patients assigned sildenafil with low dose aspirin and the second group was 50 patients assigned placebo with low dose aspirin.Results: As regard the outcomes, the study demonstrated that using of SC and LDA were effective in increasing estimated fetal weight and in improvement of umbilical artery umbilical artery Doppler (UAD) indices RI and PI for pregnancy complicated with IUGR compared with the control group.Conclusions: Sildenafil citrate is a promising treatment for IUGR fetuses with prolongation of pregnancy and improvement of fetal birth weight, umblical Doppler indices UDI, decreases days needed in PCU

Immobilization of halophilic Aspergillus awamori EM66 exochitinase on grafted k-carrageenan-alginate beads

A novel extreme halophilic exochitinase enzyme was produced by honey isolate Aspergillus awamori EM66. The enzyme was immobilized successfully on k-carrageenan-alginate gel carrier (CA) with 93 % immobilization yield. The immobilization process significantly improved the enzyme specific activity 2.6-fold compared to the free form. The significant factors influencing the immobilization process such as enzyme protein concentration and loading time were studied. Distinguishable characteristics of optimum pH and temperature, stability at different temperatures and NaCl tolerance for free and immobilized enzyme were studied. The immobilization process improved optimum temperature from 35 to 45 °C. The immobilized enzyme retained 76.70 % of its activity after 2 h at 75 °C compared to complete loss of activity for the free enzyme. The reusability test proved the durability of the CA gel beads for 28 cycles without losing its activity

Investigating the Unexpected Behavior for the Release Kinetics of Brilliant Blue Encapsulated into Calcium Alginate Beads

This work is focused on investigating the unexpected behavior for the release kinetics of brilliant blue (BB) encapsulated into calcium alginate beads. By increasing the alginate concentration from 1-3% (w/v), the release of BB over time was found to follow two different behaviors. For the first two hours, the order was 1% > 2% > 3%, after which it was as follow: 1% > 3% > 2%. The unanticipated increase in BB release using 3% (w/v) alginate beads after two hours over that of 2% (w/v) alginate was examined by the swelling and bursting tests. The results were showing clear evidences by data and image the unusual behavior of 3% (w/v) alginate beads at two hours of swelling. This unexpected behavior for the 3% (w/v) alginate beads might be due to the higher osmotic pressure inside the beads. Overall, 2% (w/v) calcium alginate beads were considered to be the optimum formulation showing an excellent carrier for targeting drugs to the intestine, where the swelling of the beads were 60 % in the acidic medium, it was 5000 % in the alkaline medium

Integration of measurable residual disease by WT1 gene expression and flow cytometry identifies pediatric patients with high risk of relapse in acute myeloid leukemia

BackgroundMolecular testing plays a pivotal role in monitoring measurable residual disease (MRD) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), aiding in the refinement of risk stratification and treatment guidance. Wilms tumor gene 1 (WT1) is frequently upregulated in pediatric AML and serves as a potential molecular marker for MRD. This study aimed to evaluate WT1 predictive value as an MRD marker and its impact on disease prognosis.MethodsQuantification of WT1 expression levels was analyzed using the standardized European Leukemia Network real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay (qRT-PCR) among a cohort of 146 pediatric AML patients. Post-induction I and intensification I, MRD response by WT1 was assessed. Patients achieving a ≥2 log reduction in WT1MRD were categorized as good responders, while those failing to reach this threshold were classified as poor responders.ResultsAt diagnosis, WT1 overexpression was observed in 112 out of 146 (76.7%) patients. Significantly high levels were found in patients with M4- FAB subtype (p=0.018) and core binding fusion transcript (CBF) (RUNX1::RUNX1T1, p=0.018, CBFB::MYH11, p=0.016). Following induction treatment, good responders exhibited a reduced risk of relapse (2-year cumulative incidence of relapse [CIR] 7.9% vs 33.2%, p=0.008). Conversely, poor responders’ post-intensification I showed significantly lower overall survival (OS) (51% vs 93.2%, p<0.001), event-free survival (EFS) (33.3% vs 82.6%, p<0.001), and higher CIR (66.6% vs 10.6%, p<0.001) at 24 months compared to good responders. Even after adjusting for potential confounders, it remained an independent adverse prognostic factor for OS (p=0.04) and EFS (p=0.008). High concordance rates between WT1-based MRD response and molecular MRD were observed in CBF patients. Furthermore, failure to achieve either a 3-log reduction by RT-PCR or a 2-log reduction by WT1 indicated a high risk of relapse. Combining MFC-based and WT1-based MRD results among the intermediate-risk group identified patients with unfavorable prognosis (positive predictive value [PPV] 100%, negative predictive value [NPV] 85%, and accuracy 87.5%).ConclusionWT1MRD response post-intensification I serves as an independent prognostic factor for survival in pediatric AML. Integration of WT1 and MFC-based MRD results enhances the reliability of MRD-based prognostic stratification, particularly in patients lacking specific leukemic markers, thereby influencing treatment strategies