EFFECT OF CRUDE EXTRACT AND PHYTOSTEROL FRACTION OF FUMARIA OFFICINALIS IN INDUCED HYPERTROPHIC SCAR OF RABBITS

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the role of crude extract and phytosterol fraction of Fumaria officinalis in experimentally induced hypertrophic scar in rabbits. Methods: Surgical wounds were performed on day 1 with an 8‑mm biopsy punch four wounds were created on the ventral surface of the rabbit ear (in vivo) down to cartilage. Triamcinolone acetonide (TAC), crude and phytosterol extracts of F. officinalis L. are administered topically to established scars on day 31. The outcome measures included study of histopathology of skin sections, transforming growth factor beta‑1 (TGF‑β1), level, and collagen three alpha1 in skin tissue. Results: In comparison with the induced hypertrophic scar, all treatment produced a significant reduction in scores of TGFβ1, collagen III, inflammation, and measurement of SEI (p ≤ 0.01). The most significant reduction in inflammation and thickness observed in TAC and extract of crude F. officinalis L. Only crude F. officinalis L. decrease fibroblast counts in comparison to induced hypertrophic scar group and other group (p ≤ 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found between the treatment groups in terms of TGF β1and collagen III. Conclusion: Topical crude extract of F. officinalis L. was more effective in the treatment of induced hypertrophic scar as compared with phytosterol of F. officinalis L. and comparable to the effectiveness of topical TAC

Effects of vitamin D and the antimicrobial peptide in asthma

Background: Vitamin D modulates a variety of processes and regulatory systems including host defense, inflammation, and immunity. A connection between Vitamin D status and asthma has been considered. Vitamin D mediates innate immunity, particularly through enhanced expression of the human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide (LL-37). Increased levels of high sensitive-C reactive protein (Hs-CRP) were found to be significantly associated with respiratory function impairment. Objective: to evaluate the relation between serum vitamin D, Hs-CRP and LL-37 levels and asthma. Study design: Thirty children (15 males and 15 females) with proven diagnosis of asthma (ages ranged from 3-13 years) were studied; they attended the pediatric department of Zagazig University Hospital in the year 2011. In addition, 30 age and sex matched apparently healthy children served as a control group. All children were subjected to history taking, clinical examination, laboratory investigations (CBC, CRP, ESR), determination of serum level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25 OHD) and plasma LL-37. Results: The study revealed a highly significant decrease in 25 OHD, LL-37 and a highly significant increase in Hs-CRP in children with asthma than in control group. There were a highly significant positive correlation between vitamin D and LL37 in patients' and control groups and a significant negative correlation between both 25OHD and LL37 and Hs-CRP in patients' group. High WBC count (specially neutrophils and lymphocytes), Hs-CRP level and low levels of hemoglobin, 25OHD and LL 37 in patient group were considered risk factors of asthma. Conclusion: Inappropriate concentration of vitamin D decreases the ability of the immune system to defend against infection through lowering LL-37 and elevated Hs-CRP which leads to occurrence and precipitation of asthma.Keywords: Vitamin D- LL-37- asthmaEgypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2012;10(2):101-10

Intralesional Injection of Botulinum Toxin for Post-Herpetic Neuralgia: A Pilot Study

Background: When someone has herpes zoster and the rash goes away in spite of persistence of pain, they are defined to have post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). Herpes zoster is frequently accompanied by post-herpetic neuralgia. Clostridium botulinum produces botulinum toxin (BTX-A), a neurotoxic protein that is used to treat various ailments. Objective: Intralesional botulinum toxin injections were tested for their efficacy in the treatment of post herpetic neuralgia. Patients and methods: An intralesional BTX-A injections pilot trial including 19 patients with PHN was carried out. Quality of life scale (QLS), neuropathy pains scale (NPS), and pain analyses by visual analogue scale (VAS) were used for all patients after comprehensive history-taking process.Results: After a six-months therapy follow-up period, we found significant differences comparing before and after treatment in the neuropathy pain scale, VAS score, and the QLS (SF-36). Pain at site of injection was found in all patients while redness or erythema was found in 13 patients. Conclusion: Treatment with botulinum toxin via local injection is beneficial for post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). BTX could be alternative therapeutic modality in treating PHN in the future

Review of specific features and challenges in the current Internet of Things systems impacting their security and reliability

The current development of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology poses significant challenges to researchers and industry practitioners. Among these challenges, security and reliability particularly deserve attention. In this paper, we provide a consolidated analysis of the root causes of these challenges, their relations, and their possible impacts on IoT systems’ general quality characteristics. Further understanding of these challenges is useful for IoT quality engineers when defining testing strategies for their systems and researchers to consider when discussing possible research directions. In this study, twenty specific features of current IoT systems are discussed, divided into five main categories: (1) Economic, managerial and organisational aspects, (2) Infrastructural challenges, (3) Security and privacy challenges, (4) Complexity challenges and (5) Interoperability problems

Quality and reliability metrics for IoT systems:a consolidated view

Quality and reliability metrics play an important role in the evaluation of the state of a system during the development and testing phases, and serve as tools to optimize the testing process or to define the exit or acceptance criteria of the system. This study provides a consolidated view on the available quality and reliability metrics applicable to Internet of Things (IoT) systems, as no comprehensive study has provided such a view specific to these systems. The quality and reliability metrics categorized and discussed in this paper are divided into three categories: metrics assessing the quality of an IoT system or service, metrics for assessing the effectiveness of the testing process, and metrics that can be universally applied in both cases. In the discussion, recommendations of proper usage of discussed metrics in a testing process are then given

Sustainable release of propranolol hydrochloride laden with biconjugated-ufasomes chitosan hydrogel attenuates cisplatin-induced sciatic nerve damage in in vitro/in vivo evaluation

Peripheral nerve injuries significantly impact patients’ quality of life and poor functional recovery. Chitosan–ufasomes (CTS–UFAs) exhibit biomimetic features, making them a viable choice for developing novel transdermal delivery for neural repair. This study aimed to investigate the role of CTS–UFAs loaded with the propranolol HCl (PRO) as a model drug in enhancing sciatica in cisplatin-induced sciatic nerve damage in rats. Hence, PRO–UFAs were primed, embedding either span 20 or 60 together with oleic acid and cholesterol using a thin-film hydration process based on full factorial design (2(4)). The influence of formulation factors on UFAs’ physicochemical characteristics and the optimum formulation selection were investigated using Design-Expert(®) software. Based on the optimal UFA formulation, PRO–CTS–UFAs were constructed and characterized using transmission electron microscopy, stability studies, and ex vivo permeation. In vivo trials on rats with a sciatic nerve injury tested the efficacy of PRO–CTS–UFA and PRO–UFA transdermal hydrogels, PRO solution, compared to normal rats. Additionally, oxidative stress and specific apoptotic biomarkers were assessed, supported by a sciatic nerve histopathological study. PRO–UFAs and PRO–CTS–UFAs disclosed entrapment efficiency of 82.72 ± 2.33% and 85.32 ± 2.65%, a particle size of 317.22 ± 6.43 and 336.12 ± 4.9 nm, ζ potential of −62.06 ± 0.07 and 65.24 ± 0.10 mV, and accumulatively released 70.95 ± 8.14% and 64.03 ± 1.9% PRO within 6 h, respectively. Moreover, PRO–CTS–UFAs significantly restored sciatic nerve structure, inhibited the cisplatin-dependent increase in peripheral myelin 22 gene expression and MDA levels, and further re-established sciatic nerve GSH and CAT content. Furthermore, they elicited MBP re-expression, BCL-2 mild expression, and inhibited TNF-α expression. Briefly, our findings proposed that CTS–UFAs are promising to enhance PRO transdermal delivery to manage sciatic nerve damage

Alternative technique using dual source CT imaging for assessment of myocardial perfusion

AbstractPurposeTo elucidate the diagnostic role of multidetector DSCT for the assessment of myocardial perfusion in correlation with coronary luminal integrity in a single CT scan while both tubes were operated in single energy mode.Methods and materialThirty-five patients were subjected to single acquisition contrast-enhanced, ECG-gated DSCT of the heart at rest. Postprocessing was performed generating two image sets: coronary CT angiographic images (cCTA) and myocardial perfusion images (CTP) for respective correlative assessment of coronary luminal integrity and myocardial perfusion. Perfusion defect was detected subjectively using gray scale images and the color coded first pass and color overlaid late enhancement (color attenuation) images were used for semi-objective evaluation and final objective and quantitative confirmation by density measurement.ResultsSignificant correlation and good agreement between the findings of DSCT myocardial perfusion and the findings of stenosis and its degree on cCTA on a segmental basis is noted with Cohen’s Kappa=0.67 and prevalence and bias adjusted Kappa=0.71 emphasizing the high diagnostic value of DSCT myocardial perfusion as compared to cCTA as the gold reference standard.ConclusionWe propose that comprehensive evaluation of coronary artery morphology and myocardial perfusion in patients with CAD could be achieved by single reproducible non-invasive contrast enhanced CT acquisition using DSCT scanners while operated in single energy mode with high sensitivity, specificity and diagnostic accuracy, it also has the potential to be the first, independent and stand out imaging choice in such field

A review on experimental surgical models and anesthetic protocols of heart failure in rats

Heart failure (HF) is a serious health and economic burden worldwide, and its prevalence is continuously increasing. Current medications effectively moderate the progression of symptoms, and there is a need for novel preventative and reparative treatments. The development of novel HF treatments requires the testing of potential therapeutic procedures in appropriate animal models of HF. During the past decades, murine models have been extensively used in fundamental and translational research studies to better understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of HF and develop more effective methods to prevent and control congestive HF. Proper surgical approaches and anesthetic protocols are the first steps in creating these models, and each successful approach requires a proper anesthetic protocol that maintains good recovery and high survival rates after surgery. However, each protocol may have shortcomings that limit the study's outcomes. In addition, the ethical regulations of animal welfare in certain countries prohibit the use of specific anesthetic agents, which are widely used to establish animal models. This review summarizes the most common and recent surgical models of HF and the anesthetic protocols used in rat models. We will highlight the surgical approach of each model, the use of anesthesia, and the limitations of the model in the study of the pathophysiology and therapeutic basis of common cardiovascular diseases

Clinical Profile of Non-Motor Symptoms in Patients with Essential Tremor: Impact on Quality of Life and Age-Related Differences

Background: Identifying the clinical phenotypes of non-motor symptoms (NMSs) of essential tremor (ET) among different populations is necessary due to their impact on the quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to investigate the clinical phenotype and impact of NMSs on QoL in Egyptian patients with ET. Methods: Thirty ET patients were compared to 30 matched controls. Subjects were evaluated by the Fahn-Tolosa-Marin Tremor Rating Scale, Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Pittsburgh Sleep quality Index, and the Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire. Both groups were divided into two subgroups of younger (45 years, 16 patients) groups, to investigate age-related differences. Results: ET patients showed significantly worse cognition, depression, anxiety, sleep and NMSS domains (p < 0.001), compared to controls, that negatively affected and predicted QoL. Older patients had more cognitive impairment (p = 0.003) and worse sleep/fatigue (p = 0.032) and sexual functions (p = 0.006), compared to younger group. Discussion: The study supports that NMSs are integral part of ET, negatively affect QoL, and similarly affect younger and older patients. Therefore, NMSs should be explored for proper care of ET patients