Application and comparison of two different intraspecific protoplast fusion methods in Trichoderma harzianum and their effect on &#946-glucosidase activity

In an attempt to construct superior Trichoderma harzianum isolates for improving β-glucosidase productivity, protoplast fusion technique was applied. After application of different mutagenic treatments, twenty mutants were chosen to be tested for their resistance or sensitivity against four antifungal agents. Out of them, four isolates were selected on the basis of their response to antifungal agents and their productivities of carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) and β-glucosidase to be introduced into intraspecific protoplast fusion experiments using two different methods (PEG and electrofusion). Three crosses were carried out among the selected four isolates. Results showed that, the number of fusants obtained after electrofusion were more than those obtained after polyethylene glycol (PEG) method. In addition, high productivities of CMCase and β- glucosidase were obtained after electrofusion in the three crosses. The applied protoplast electrofusion method proved to be a good and effective method for obtaining T. harzianum fusants with higher productivity of β- glucosidase enzyme.Key words: Trichoderma, protoplast fusion, electroporation, β-glucosidase

The FGF-21 genetic variants rs838133 and rs838145 are associated with high salt intake in the Emirati population

Food predilection is linked to variants in the hepatokine “Fibroblast Growth Factor-21” gene (FGF21); with rs838133 linked to the sweet tooth in Caucasians. The effect of FGF21 variants on food intake is still unclear in other populations. A cohort of 196 healthy Emirati subjects was investigated [age: 30.34 ± 9.75yrs (44.4% males)]. The FGF21 rs838133 and rs838145 were genotyped. The daily intake was calculated based on a 61-item food frequency questionnaire. Multivariate analysis was performed using in house R script that implements two-way unsupervised hierarchical clustering to detect the association of the studied single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and related SNPs in linkage disequilibrium, using data from the 1000 genome project. Both SNPs were in Hardy-Weinberg Equilaribium (HWE). BMI positively correlated with age (p = 0.002), but not with caloric intake. Salt intake was significantly higher in subjects homozygous (A: rs838133) and (G:rs838145),(p = 0.03 and 0.01, respectively). An interaction was observed between both SNPs; significantly associated with high salt intake. Using publicly available data, both SNPs fall within a region transmitted in Iberians which has a profile closely similar to Caucasians, but far from Chinese population. In conclusion, the minor alleles of FGF21 rs838145 and rs838133 are associated with high salt intake in Emiratis and may suggest neuro-metabolic link to dietary preference across different populations

Кинетика восстановления железа при восстановительной плавке рудоугольных окатышей

Исследовано влияние интенсивности теплообмена на кинетику восстановления железа в процессе плавки рудоугольных окатышей. Показано, что с ростом интенсивности теплообмена повышается скорость восстановительных процессов. Вследствие роста коэффициента теплообмена увеличивается глубина восстановленного слоя окатыша, существенно изменяются его структура и химический состав образующейся металлической фазы.Досліджено вплив інтенсивності теплообміну на кінетику відновлення заліза в процесі плавки рудовугільних окатишів. Показано, що при зростанні інтенсивності теплообміну підвищується швидкість відновлювальних процесів. Внаслідок зростання коефіцієнту теплообміну збільшується глибина відновленого шару окатиша, суттєво змінюються його структура та хімічний склад металевої фази, що утворюється.Influence of intensity of heat exchange is investigational on kinetics reduction of iron in the process of melting ore-coal pellets. It is rotined that speed of reduction processes rises with growth of intensity of heat exchange. Because of growth of coefficient of heat exchange the depth of the recovered layer of pellet is increased, his structure and chemical composition of appearing metallic phase changes substantially

Crustal Strain and Stress Fields in Egypt from Geodetic and Seismological Data

The comparison between crustal stress and surface strain azimuthal patterns has provided new insights into several complex tectonic settings worldwide. Here, we performed such a comparison for Egypt taking into account updated datasets of seismological and geodetic observations. In north-eastern Egypt, the stress field shows a fan-shaped azimuthal pattern with a WNW–ESE orientation on the Cairo region, which progressively rotated to NW–SE along the Gulf of Aqaba. The stress field shows a prevailing normal faulting regime, however, along the Sinai/Arabia plate boundary it coexists with a strike–slip faulting one (σ1 ≅ σ2 > σ3), while on the Gulf of Suez, it is characterized by crustal extension occurring on near-orthogonal directions (σ1 > σ2 ≅ σ3). On the Nile Delta, the maximum horizontal stress (SHmax) pattern shows scattered orientations, while on the Aswan region, it has a WNW–ESE strike with pure strike–slip features. The strain-rate field shows the largest values along the Red Sea and the Sinai/Arabia plate boundary. Crustal stretching (up to 40 nanostrain/yr) occurs on these areas with WSW–ENE and NE–SW orientations, while crustal contraction occurs on northern Nile Delta (10 nanostrain/yr) and offshore (~35 nanostrain/yr) with E–W and N–S orientations, respectively. The comparison between stress and strain orientations over the investigated area reveals that both patterns are near-parallel and driven by the same large-scale tectonic processe

Lack of association of CTLA-4 +49 A/G polymorphism with predisposition to type 1 diabetes in a cohort of Egyptian families

Background: Type 1 diabetes is one of the most common chronic childhood illnesses. Interplay between genetic susceptibility and environmental factors is thought to provide the fundamental element for the disease. Apart from the Major Histocompatibility locus which is the main contributor to risk susceptibility, more than 40 loci are recognized. One among these is the CTLA-4, however data from the literature are controversial. The aim of our study was to investigate the role of CTLA4 49 A/G as a risk susceptibility factor for the development of type 1 diabetes in a cohort of Egyptian families.Subjects and methods: This is a case control study including 88 Egyptian families with one or more index cases (<18 years). The control group comprised 369 healthy unrelated subjects with no family history of diabetes or autoimmune disease. Using PCR-RFLP methodology, CTLA4 49 A/G was analyzed in 738 samples representing 88 families (88 patients, 125 siblings and 156 parents) and 369 control.Results: The age of onset was 6 days-12.5 years with a mean of 5.3± 3.6 and a median of 5 years. The mode of presentation was classic symptoms in 51 and diabetic ketoacidosis in 37 cases. Twenty-two cases had a history of viral infection or exanthematous disease and four had associated autoimmune diseases. No significant differences were encountered between the different groups with regard to CTLA4 +49 A/G genotype or allele frequencies. Neither was there a relation between the various genotypes and age of onset or the mode of presentation.Conclusions: CTLA4 49 A/G polymorphism was not recognized as a risk susceptibility factor in our cohort. This may be attributed to the low co-incidence of autoimmune diseases. Up to our best knowledge, this is the first study involving families. We recommend that all studies performed on risk susceptibility to type 1 diabetes should include proper investigation for other autoimmune diseases to exclude their confounding effect on data analysis.Keywords: Type 1 diabetes; CTLA-4; Risk susceptibilit

Knowledge and Perception Towards Psychotropic Drugs Among the General Population in Saudi Arabia

Eatedal M Al-Shareef,1 Alaa M Kadah Salim,1 Nada M Al-Farrah,1 Bader M Al-Murad,1 Adnan A Moallem,1 Mohammed A Radwan,1 Salman Hakami,2 Asim M Alshanberi,1,3 Mohammed Shaikhomer,4 Safaa M Alsanosi5 1General Medicine Program, Batterjee Medical College, Jeddah, 21442, Saudi Arabia; 2Department of Psychiatry, Mental Health Hospital, Ministry of Health, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 3Department of Community Medicine and Pilgrims Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 4Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; 5Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al Qura University, Makkah, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Safaa M Alsanosi, Email [email protected]: Mental health is crucial to overall well-being. Despite an increase in mental disorders over the past few decades, public awareness remains slow-growing, and stigmatization towards psychotropic medications persists. Therefore, this study aimed to identify knowledge and perceptions of psychotropic drugs among the general population in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia.Methods: A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged 18 years old and older, living in the Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia, from 1 January to 30 April 2024. Descriptive statistics were used to describe participants’ characteristics, and categorical variables were reported as frequencies and percentages. A Chi-square test was used to examine the relationships between variables.Results: A total of 717 participants were involved in the study: (52%) were from Jeddah, (25.9%) were from Taif, and (22%) were from Makkah. The mean age was 33.9 years, and 67.1% were females. Among the participants, (20.8%) had experienced a psychiatric illness, (41.7%) had a member of the family who suffered from a psychiatric illness, (39.5%) had a family member who used a psychiatric drug, and only 25 (7%) had a child suffering from a psychiatric illness. Specifically, 20.8% of those with a psychiatric illness demonstrated good knowledge (P=0.001), 16.1% of those with a family history of psychiatric illness had good knowledge (P=0.007), 16.3% with family use of psychiatric drugs had good knowledge (P=0.006), and 24.5% of those who used psychiatric drugs had high knowledge (P=0.001). Overall, (40.6%) of participants had a low level of knowledge and perception about psychotropic drugs, (47.8%) had a moderate knowledge and perception level, and only (11.6%) had high knowledge and perception.Conclusion: Psychological well-being is crucial for health, but misconceptions persist, acting as barriers that impede people from seeking and accepting necessary psychiatric care. The findings highlight the need for targeted public education and healthcare professional training to improve Confirmed understanding and reduce stigma around psychotropic drugs in Saudi Arabia. A multifaceted approach involving policy development, community outreach, and ongoing research is essential for enhancing mental health outcomes and treatment accessibility.Keywords: knowledge, perception, psychotropic drugs, Saudi Arabi

Population‐based cohort study of outcomes following cholecystectomy for benign gallbladder diseases

Background The aim was to describe the management of benign gallbladder disease and identify characteristics associated with all‐cause 30‐day readmissions and complications in a prospective population‐based cohort. Methods Data were collected on consecutive patients undergoing cholecystectomy in acute UK and Irish hospitals between 1 March and 1 May 2014. Potential explanatory variables influencing all‐cause 30‐day readmissions and complications were analysed by means of multilevel, multivariable logistic regression modelling using a two‐level hierarchical structure with patients (level 1) nested within hospitals (level 2). Results Data were collected on 8909 patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 167 hospitals. Some 1451 cholecystectomies (16·3 per cent) were performed as an emergency, 4165 (46·8 per cent) as elective operations, and 3293 patients (37·0 per cent) had had at least one previous emergency admission, but had surgery on a delayed basis. The readmission and complication rates at 30 days were 7·1 per cent (633 of 8909) and 10·8 per cent (962 of 8909) respectively. Both readmissions and complications were independently associated with increasing ASA fitness grade, duration of surgery, and increasing numbers of emergency admissions with gallbladder disease before cholecystectomy. No identifiable hospital characteristics were linked to readmissions and complications. Conclusion Readmissions and complications following cholecystectomy are common and associated with patient and disease characteristics

Immunogenicity Is Not Improved by Increased Antigen Dose or Booster Dosing of Seasonal Influenza Vaccine in a Randomized Trial of HIV Infected Adults

The risk of poor vaccine immunogenicity and more severe influenza disease in HIV necessitate strategies to improve vaccine efficacy.A randomized, multi-centered, controlled, vaccine trial with three parallel groups was conducted at 12 CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network sites. Three dosing strategies were used in HIV infected adults (18 to 60 years): two standard doses over 28 days, two double doses over 28 days and a single standard dose of influenza vaccine, administered prior to the 2008 influenza season. A trivalent killed split non-adjuvanted influenza vaccine (Fluviral™) was used. Serum hemagglutinin inhibition (HAI) activity for the three influenza strains in the vaccine was measured to assess immunogenicity.297 of 298 participants received at least one injection. Baseline CD4 (median 470 cells/µL) and HIV RNA (76% of patients with viral load <50 copies/mL) were similar between groups. 89% were on HAART. The overall immunogenicity of influenza vaccine across time points and the three influenza strains assessed was poor (Range HAI ≥ 40 =  31-58%). Double dose plus double dose booster slightly increased the proportion achieving HAI titre doubling from baseline for A/Brisbane and B/Florida at weeks 4, 8 and 20 compared to standard vaccine dose. Increased immunogenicity with increased antigen dose and booster dosing was most apparent in participants with unsuppressed HIV RNA at baseline. None of 8 serious adverse events were thought to be immunization-related.Even with increased antigen dose and booster dosing, non-adjuvanted influenza vaccine immunogenicity is poor in HIV infected individuals. Alternative influenza vaccines are required in this hyporesponsive population.ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00764998