Classification system for Egyptian heritage buildings

To create a classification system for heritage buildings, it is essential to delve into the architectural components of the buildings following a specific procedure. First, the different objects’ properties (including their architectural style, geometric characteristics and ratio, condition, construction method, cultural value, material, color, reflectance characteristics) are identified. Second, creating a systematic framework that identifies the lifestyle of each element, stating the grouping principle of heritage elements and the design composition of tables that identifies the geometrical form, material and functional features whether insulation or load tolerance. This paper presents the challenges in creating a unified classification system for an Egyptian heritage palace built in 1896 with different architectural styles; i.e Rocco, Baroque, Islamic and even architectural customized elements with Royal slogan; through different historical periods, where multiple elements and sections were detached and attached to the place during its lifetime. The formulated classification system can be generalized in similar heritage buildings built in the same era

Near-total pancreatectomy for persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (nesidioblastosis): Mansoura experience

Background/purpose Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy (PHHI) is the most common cause of persistent hypoglycemia in infancy with consequences such as seizures and brain damage. Treatment that prevents the occurrence of these sequele is essential. When medical therapy fails or complications are anticipated, early pancreatectomy is recommended to maintain euglycemia. The aim of this study was short-term evaluation of near-total pancreatectomy for PHHI after failure of medical treatment in patients in Mansoura, Egypt.Patients and methods During May 2002 to May 2010, 33 patients suffering from persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia were admitted to Mansoura university child hospital. Twenty patients responded to medical treatment and 13 patients (eight girls and five boys) were treated by near-total (90–95%) pancreatectomy after failure of medical treatment. Their ages at the time of surgery ranged from 20 days to 27 months. Only patients who were surgically managed were included in this study. All of them suffered from symptoms of PHHI: thermoregulatory problems in five cases, tremors in five cases, seizures in three, irritability in five, respiratory distress in eight, apnea in four, hypotonia in four, lethargy in five, and feeding difficulty in four cases. All cases were diagnosed following strict criteria that included bouts of hypoglycemia without acidosis coinciding with increased insulin level. Follow-up ranged from 3 months to 8 years.Results Primary success occurred in two cases (15%); four more cases (31%) developed temporary diabetes mellitus, and one case (8%) had a temporary pancreatic fistula. Eventually, total cure occurred in seven cases (54%); six cases (46%) developed a variety of complications; and persistent hypoglycemia was seen in two. Persistent diabetes mellitus was observed in three patients, developmental delay in one, and persistent neurological deficit in two patients; there was one case of mortality.Conclusion Near-total (90–95%) pancreatectomy is a suitable procedure for treatment of nesidioblastosis not responding to medical treatment and should be performed as early as possible. Keywords: Mansoura, near-total pancreatectomy, persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemi

Nuclear Shape Transition, Triaxiality and Energy Staggering of gamma Band States for Even-Even Xenon Isotopic Chain

The positive-parity states of even-even Xe nuclei are investigated within the framework of modified O(6) limit of the interacting boson model (IBM1). The effective three-body interaction [QQQ] where Q is the IBM O(6) quadrupole operator is introduced to exhibit the triaxiality nature. The shape of nuclear surface is described by the deformation parameters beta, gamma by using the intrinsic coherent state. The potential energy surfaces (PES) of the transition U(5)-Triaxiality-O(6) are calculated and analyzed and the critical phase transition points are identified. For each nucleus a fitting procedure is adopted to get the best model parameters by fitting some selected calculated energy levels and B(E2)transition rates ratios with experimental ones. These ratios are analyzed because they serve as effective order parameters in the shape phase transition. The nuclei in Xe isotopic chain evolve from spherical vibrator U(5) to gamma-soft rotor O(6) by increasing the boson number from N=3 (heavy isotope 132Xe) to N=10 (light isotope 120Xe) and the isotope 126Xe represent the critical nucleus. The nucleus 128Xe has triaxial nature. To deal with high spin states in gamma band in 118- 128Xe isotopic chain to investigate and exhibit the odd-even spin energy staggering, we introduce the two parameters collective nuclear softness rotor model (CNS2). Three different staggering indices depending on the dipole transitions linking the two families of spins and the quadrupole transitions within each spin family are considered. Strong odd-even spin energy staggering has been seen. As a link between the IBM and CNS2 models we observed that the energy difference between the gamma-band and ground state band normalized to decreases with increasing the mass numberComment: 20 pages,4 tables, 7 figures and 59 reference

Diagnostics and outcome predictorso drug induced liver injury: a single center prospective study

Background: Although drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a rare clinical event, it carries significant morbidity and mortality. The diagnostic approach of DILI is still challenging because of lack of reliable markers that would allow distinguishing DILI from other causes of liver injury. Objective: To study the demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics, and their relation to outcome of patients with DILI. Patients and Methods: Case control study conducted on 80 participants divided into two groups; Group I 40 patients with acute DILI and Group II 40 patients with acute viral induced liver injury. Subjects were systematically evaluated for clinical and laboratory characteristics, other etiologies, severity of DILI with application of Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM) and liver biopsy whenever feasible and were all followed for 6 months thereafter. Results: Diclofenac was the most incriminated drug in DILI group (16 cases, 40%). Hepatocellular injury pattern was more common (28 cases, 70%). Infection with acute hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) were the commonest etiology of viral hepatitis (32 cases, 80%). All patients with acute viral hepatitis, improved with no recorded mortality nor chronicity. While 6 patients (15%) with DILI died. Conclusion: The diagnostic approach of DILI is still rudimentary and inaccurate and require high index of suspicion and thus, careful assessment is required to distinguish DILI from other causes of liver injury

Role of CD99 in adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Background: When it comes to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the large proportion of patients usually have relapses. Acute myeloid leukemia, Lymphoblastic lymphoma/leukemia, as well as Ewing sarcoma all have high CD99 expression.Objective: The aim of the current work was to assess CD99 expression frequency in patients with AML, and also to evaluate its association with different clinical and laboratory data.Patients and Methods: This comprehensive study included a total of 40 AML patients and 20 matched healthy subjects, attending at Departments of Clinical Pathology and Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University Hospitals. Clinical and laboratory data were correlated with CD99 expression frequency in patients with AML in order to examine its usefulness as a predictive and prognostic factor.Results: Examination of CD99 expression in AML patients revealed that 80% of patients are CD99 positive, while (20%) are negative.Conclusion: CD99 expression in acute myeloid leukemia patients is of good prognostic value

The Impact of Slice Interval and Equation on the Accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Image Estimation of Quadriceps Muscle Volume in End Stage Liver Disease

INTRODUCTION: End stage liver disease (ESLD) is associated with loss of muscle mass and function, known as sarcopenia, which can increase the risk of complications of ESLD, hospitalization and mortality. Therefore, the accurate assessment of muscle mass is essential to evaluate sarcopenia in ESLD. However, manual segmentation of muscle volume (MV) can be laborious on cross-sectional imaging, due to the number of slices that require analysis. This study aimed to investigate the impact of reducing the number of slices required for MV estimation. Further, we aimed to compare two equations utilized in estimating MV (cylindrical and truncated cone). METHODS: Thirty eight ESLD patients (23 males; 54.8 ± 10.7 years) were recruited from the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Birmingham. A 3T MRI scan was completed of the lower limbs. Quadriceps MV was estimated utilizing 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4 cm slice intervals with both cylindrical and truncated cone equations. Absolute and relative error (compared to 1 cm slice interval) was generated for 2-, 3-, and 4 cm slice intervals. L3 skeletal muscle index (SMI) was also calculated in 30 patients. RESULTS: Relative error increased with slice interval using the cylindrical (0.45 vs. 1.06 vs. 1.72%) and truncated cone equation (0.27 vs. 0.58 vs. 0.74%) for 2, 3, and 4 cm, respectively. Significantly, the cylindrical equation produced approximately twice the error compared to truncated cone, with 3 cm (0.58 vs. 1.06%, P < 0.01) and 4 cm intervals (0.74 vs. 1.72%, P < 0.001). Finally, quadriceps MV was significantly correlated to L3 SMI (r(2) = 0.44, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The use of the truncated equation with a 4 cm slice interval on MRI offers an efficient but accurate estimation of quadricep muscle volume in ESLD patients