FOXO3a gene polymorphism and bronchial asthma in Egyptian children INTRODUCTION Bronchial asthma is the most prevalent chronic immunological disorder in childhood period. It is characterized by airways inflammation and bronchial hyper-responsiveness where

Background: FOXO3a proteins play multiple crucial roles in immune response. FOXO3 inhibits T cell proliferation, induces T cell apoptosis via upregulation of proapoptotic proteins and it suppresses T cell activation preventing autoimmunity. The role of FOXO3a gene in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma has been studied in few ethnic groups and revealed its implication in asthma pathogenesis.Objectives: The aim of the current study is to detect the association between single nucleotide polymorphism of the FOXO3a gene (rs13217795) and bronchial asthma, atopy and asthma severity in Egyptian children.Methods: The current cross-sectional case-control study was performed on 75 asthmatic children aged 2 to 12 years following up in the pulmonology outpatient clinic in Children's hospital, Cairo University and 75 age and sex matched healthy controls. Candidates were subjected to clinical evaluation in addition to genotyping for the FOXO3a gene polymorphism using PCR-RFLP technique.Results: The highest frequency was for the heterozygous type CT in both cases and controls groups. The genotype frequencies of mutant type TT for cases and controls were 12 % and 16% respectively, and the T allele frequencies were 37.2% in cases and 46.7% in the control group while CC genotype was present in 37.3% of asthmatic patients and 22.6% in the controls and the C allele was detected in 62.8% and 53.3% for cases and controls respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed between asthmatic patients and controls regarding the different genotypes of the FOXO3a gene polymorphism (p=0.161). No significant association was detected between the different genotypes of the FOXO3a gene polymorphism and the atopic status (p=0.536) or the different grades of asthma severity (p= 0.545).Conclusions: The study of FOXO3a gene polymorphism (rs13217795) in asthmatic Egyptian children revealed low frequency of the mutant TT genotype among cases and controls. In the current study, FOXO3a polymorphism has no role in the pathogenesis of asthma or atopy. Moreover, it has no relation to degree of disease severity.Keywords: Asthma, FOXO3a, gene, children, Egyptian, polymorphis

Removal of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disrupting compounds in water recycling process using reverse osmosis systems

A detailed investigation was carried out to evaluate the occurrence, persistence and fate of a range of micropollutants at different processing points at a full-scale water recycling plant (WRP) in Queensland, Australia. The WRP, which combines an advanced water treatment plant (AWTP) with a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), produces high quality recycled water for industrial users. The concentrations of 11 pharmaceuticals from various therapeutic categories and two endocrine disrupting chemicals were examined in full-scale microfiltration and reverse osmosis membrane facilities. Salicylic acid was the most abundant analyte in the WWTP influent, with a concentration range of 11 to 38 μg/L, followed by bisphenol A with concentrations ranging from 6 to 23 μg/L. The concentration of all analytes decreased on average by one order of magnitude following primary and secondary treatment. Gemfibrozil, primidone and carbamazepine were found to have lower removal efficiencies (74-78%) than other compounds during these stages, which could indicate lower biodegradability. The microfiltration and reverse osmosis systems were found to further lower the pollutant concentrations by an order of magnitude. The overall removal efficiencies in the final recycled water were above 97 %, resulting in product water concentrations of lower than 0.1 μg/L for most compounds. An exception to this finding was observed for bisphenol A, which was detected in concentrations up to 0.5 μg/L in the final recycled water

Incidence of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus in the United Arab Emirates; Comparison of Six Diagnostic Criteria: The Mutaba’ah Study

BACKGROUND: For more than half a century, there has been much research and controversies on how to accurately screen for and diagnose gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). There is a paucity of updated research among the Emirati population in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The lack of a uniform GDM diagnostic criteria results in the inability to accurately combine or compare the disease burden worldwide and locally. This study aimed to compare the incidence of GDM in the Emirati population using six diagnostic criteria for GDM. METHODS: The Mutaba’ah study is the largest multi-center mother and child cohort study in the UAE with an 18-year follow-up. We included singleton pregnancies from the Mutaba’ah cohort screened with the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 24–32 weeks from May 2017 to March 2021. We excluded patients with known diabetes and with newly diagnosed diabetes. GDM cumulative incidence was determined using the six specified criteria. GDM risk factors were compared using chi-square and t-tests. Agreements among the six criteria were assessed using kappa statistics. RESULTS: A total of 2,546 women were included with a mean age of 30.5 ± 6.0 years. Mean gravidity was 3.5 ± 2.1, and mean body mass index (BMI) at booking was 27.7 ± 5.6 kg/m(2). GDM incidence as diagnosed by any of the six criteria collectively was 27.1%. It ranged from 8.4% according to the EASD 1996 criteria to 21.5% according to the NICE 2015 criteria. The two most inclusive criteria were the NICE 2015 and the IADPSG criteria with GDM incidence rates of 21.5% (95% CI: 19.9, 23.1) and 21.3% (95% CI: 19.8, 23.0), respectively. Agreement between the two criteria was moderate (k = 0.66; p < 0.001). The least inclusive was the EASD 1996 criteria [8.4% (95% CI: 7.3, 9.6)]. The locally recommended IADPSG/WHO 2013 criteria had weak to moderate agreement with the other criteria, with Cohen’s kappa coefficient ranging from (k = 0.51; p < 0.001) to (k = 0.71; p < 0.001). Most of the GDM risk factors assessed were significantly higher among those with GDM (p < 0.005) identified by all criteria. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate discrepancies among the diagnostic criteria in identifying GDM cases. This emphasizes the need to unify GDM diagnostic criteria in this population to provide accurate and reliable incidence estimates for healthcare planning, especially because the agreement with the recommended criteria was not optimal

Occurrence of pharmaceutically active and non-steroidal estrogenic compounds in three different wastewater recycling schemes in Australia

The discovery that natural and synthetic chemicals, in the form of excreted hormones and pharmaceuticals, as well as a vast array of compounds with domestic and industrial applications, can enter the environment via wastewater treatment plants and cause a wide variety of environmental and health problems even at very low concentrations, suggests the need for improvement of water recycling. Three Australian wastewater recycling schemes, two of which employ reverse osmosis (RO) technology, the other applying ozonation and biological activated carbon filtration, have been studied for their ability to remove trace organic contaminants including 11 pharmaceutically active compounds and two non-steroidal estrogenic compounds. Contaminant concentrations were determined using a sensitive analytical method comprising solid phase extraction, derivatization and GC with MS using selected ion monitoring. In raw wastewater, concentrations of analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications were comparable to those found in wastewaters around the world. Remarkably, removal efficiencies for the three schemes were superior to literature values and RO was responsible for the greatest proportion of contaminant removal. The ability of RO membranes to concentrate many of the compounds was demonstrated and highlights the need for continued research into monitoring wastewater treatment, concentrate disposal, improved water recycling schemes and ultimately, safer water and a cleaner environment

Impact of metformin on the clinical and metabolic parameters of women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the commonest endocrine disorders affecting women of reproductive age, and metformin is a widely used medication in managing this condition. Aim: To review the available literature comprehensively on the therapeutic impact of metformin on the clinical and metabolic parameters of women with PCOS. Data source: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus, Embase, Cochrane Library and the Web of Science and selected sources for grey literature from their inception to April 2020. An updated search in PubMed was performed in June 2022. Data synthesis: Two reviewers selected eligible studies and extracted data, and the review is reported following the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Results: In 24 eligible randomised controlled trials (RCTs) involving 564 participants who received metformin therapy, metformin was associated with significant reduction in body weight by 3.13 kg (95% CI: −5.33, −0.93), body mass index (BMI) by 0.82 kg/m² (95% CI: −1.22, −0.41), fasting blood glucose [standardised mean difference (SMD): −0.23; 95% CI: −0.40, −0.06], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (SMD: −0.41; 95% CI: −0.85, 0.03), total testosterone (SMD: −0.33; 95% CI: −0.49, −0.17), androstenedione (SMD: −0.45; 95% CI: −0.70, −0.20), 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) (SMD: −0.58; 95% CI: −1.16, 0.00) and increase the likelihood of clinical pregnancy rate [odds ratio (OR): 3.00; 95% CI: 1.95, 4.59] compared with placebo. Conclusion: In women with PCOS, metformin use has shown a positive impact in reducing body weight, BMI, total testosterone, androstenedione, 17-OHP, LDL-C, fasting blood glucose and increasing the likelihood of pregnancy in women with PCOS

Patterns of tobacco smoking and nicotine vaping among university students in the united arab emirates: A cross-sectional study

Various forms of tobacco smoking and nicotine vaping tools are available on the market. This study quantified the prevalence of and identified factors associated with patterns of smoking and nicotine vaping among university students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A cross-sectional sample of students enrolled in three public universities was surveyed. Self-reported current smoking and nicotine vaping were recorded. Of 1123 students, 81.7% completed the online survey (mean age, 20.7 ± 3.4 (SD) years; 70.7% females). The prevalence of current smoking was 15.1% while the prevalence of current nicotine vaping was nearly 4.0%. Among current smokers, 54.7% reported conventional smoking only, 15.1% reported nicotine vaping only, and 28.8% were poly-users. Conventional midwakh (47.5%), followed by conventional shisha/waterpipe (36.7%), conventional cigarettes (36.7%), electronic shisha/waterpipe (25.2%), and electronic cigarettes (24.5%), were most commonly reported by students. Students aged 20–25 years (adjusted odds ratios (aOR): 2.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18–3.67) or \u3e25 years (aOR: 4.24, 95% CI: 1.41–12.80) had higher odds of being current smokers compared to those aged 17–19 years. The male gender was also independently associated with higher odds of being a current smoker (aOR: 5.45, 95% CI: 3.31–8.97) as well as higher odds of smoking cigarettes, shisha, and midwakh, or nicotine vaping compared to being female. Of nicotine vaping users, 36.1% reported using nicotine vaping because they enjoyed the flavor and vaporizing experience and 34.4% used it to help them to quit smoking. A relatively high prevalence of self-reported smoking was reported among university students in the UAE. The findings also suggest that nicotine vaping use is relatively widespread, but still less common than traditional smoking. Vigilant and tailored university-based smoking control and preventive measures are warranted