The Core/E1 domain of Hepatitis C virus genotype 4a in Egypt does not contain viral mutations or strains specific for hepatocellular carcinoma

[EN] Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a well-documented etiological factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). As HCV shows remarkable genetic diversity, an interesting and important issue is whether such a high viral genetic diversity plays a role in the incidence of HCC. Prior data on this subject are conflicting. Objectives: Potential association between HCV genetic mutations or strain variability and HCC incidence has been examined through a comparative genetic analysis merely focused on a single HCV subtype (genotype 4a) in a single country (Egypt). Study design: The study focused on three HCV sequence datasets with explicit sampling dates and disease patterns. An overlapping HCV Core/E1 domain from three datasets was used as the target for comparative analysis through genetic and phylogenetic approaches. Results: Based on partial Core/E1 domain (387 bp), genetic and phylogenetic analysis did not identify any HCC-specific viral mutations and strains, respectively. Conclusions: The Core/E1 domain of HCV genotype 4a in Egypt does not contain HCC-specific mutations or strains. Additionally, sequence errors resulting from the polymerase chain reaction, together with a strong evolutionary pressure on HCV in patients with end-stage liver disease, have significant potential to bias data generation and interpretation. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This work was supported by NIH grants R01 DK80711 (Dr. Xiaofeng Fan), R21 AI076834 (Dr. Adrian M. Di Bisceglie) and USA and Egypt Science and Technology Joint Fund BIO6-002-004 (Dr. Adrian M. Di Bisceglie).Zhang, X.; Ryu, SH.; Xu, Y.; Elbaz, T.; Zekri, AN.; Abdelaziz, AO.; Abdel-Hamid, M.... (2011). The Core/E1 domain of Hepatitis C virus genotype 4a in Egypt does not contain viral mutations or strains specific for hepatocellular carcinoma. Journal of Clinical Virology. 52(4):333-338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcv.2011.08.022S33333852

Genome-wide association and Meta-analysis of age at onset in Parkinson Disease

Background and Objectives Considerable heterogeneity exists in the literature concerning genetic determinants of the age at onset (AAO) of Parkinson disease (PD), which could be attributed to a lack of well-powered replication cohorts. The previous largest genome-wide association studies (GWAS) identified SNCA and TMEM175 loci on chromosome (Chr) 4 with a significant influence on the AAO of PD; these have not been independently replicated. This study aims to conduct a meta-analysis of GWAS of PD AAO and validate previously observed findings in worldwide populations. Methods A meta-analysis was performed on PD AAO GWAS of 30 populations of predominantly European ancestry from the Comprehensive Unbiased Risk Factor Assessment for Genetics and Environment in Parkinson's Disease (COURAGE-PD) Consortium. This was followed by combining our study with the largest publicly available European ancestry dataset compiled by the International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium (IPDGC). Results The COURAGE-PD Consortium included a cohort of 8,535 patients with PD (91.9%: Europeans and 9.1%: East Asians). The average AAO in the COURAGE-PD dataset was 58.9 years (SD = 11.6), with an underrepresentation of females (40.2%). The heritability estimate for AAO in COURAGE-PD was 0.083 (SE = 0.057). None of the loci reached genome-wide significance (p < 5 × 10−8). Nevertheless, the COURAGE-PD dataset confirmed the role of the previously published TMEM175 variant as a genetic determinant of the AAO of PD with Bonferroni-corrected nominal levels of significance (p < 0.025): (rs34311866: β(SE)COURAGE = 0.477(0.203), pCOURAGE = 0.0185). The subsequent meta-analysis of COURAGE-PD and IPDGC datasets (Ntotal = 25,950) led to the identification of 2 genome-wide significant association signals on Chr 4, including the previously reported SNCA locus (rs983361: β(SE)COURAGE+IPDGC = 0.720(0.122), pCOURAGE+IPDGC = 3.13 × 10−9) and a novel BST1 locus (rs4698412: β(SE)COURAGE+IPDGC = −0.526(0.096), pCOURAGE+IPDGC = 4.41 × 10−8). Discussion Our study further refines the genetic architecture of Chr 4 underlying the AAO of the PD phenotype through the identification of BST1 as a novel AAO PD locus. These findings open a new direction for the development of treatments to delay the onset of PD

The use of light weight deflectometer for in situ evaluation of sand degree of compaction

The light weight deflectometer (LWD), also known as the light falling weight deflectometer, light drop weight tester, and dynamic plate load test, is a hand portable device that was developed in Germany to measure the soil in situ LWD dynamic modulus. Typically, this modulus is used to evaluate the subsoil degree of compaction. Thus it is suitable for compaction quality control of soil-surfaced roads, embankments and replacement fill. As a dynamic test, the device is suited, in particular, for coarse and mixed grained soils with a maximum grain size of 63 mm. The response of poorly graded calcareous and siliceous sands is the focus of this research. First, the index soil properties of the tested soils including grain size distribution; maximum and minimum void ratios and specific gravity were obtained. Petrographic analyses of the tested sands were also performed to determine their mineralogical composition. A 1-m3 chamber was built for performing the LWD testing in the laboratory. The study was performed for relative densities of 20%, 40%, 60% and 80% to represent the behavior of very loose, loose, medium dense and dense sands. The effect of the existence of a rigid boundary beneath the tested soil on test results was also investigated to determine the zone of influence of the light weight deflectometer

Zinc oxide resveratrol nanoparticles ameliorate testicular dysfunction due to levofloxacin-induced oxidative stress in rats

Abstract The present work is aimed to assess the protective influence of zinc oxide resveratrol nanoparticles against oxidative stress-associated testicular dysfunction. The number of 50 male albino rats were randomly separated into five groups (n = 10): Group I, control: rats gavage distilled water orally; Group II, Levofloxacin: rats that administered Levofloxacin (LFX) softened in distilled water at a dosage of 40 mg/kg−1 BW orally every other day; Group III, Zn-RSV: rats administered with Zn-RSV (zinc oxide resveratrol in distilled water at a dose 20 mg/kg−1 BW orally every other day; Group IV, (LFX + Zn-RSV): rats that were administered with Levofloxacin along with Zn-RSV nPs; Group V, Levofloxacin + Zn: rats were administered with Levofloxacin and Zno at a dose of 20 mg/kg−1 BW orally every other day as mentioned before. This study lasted for 2 months. Sera were collected to assess luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone values. Testicular tissues were utilized to evaluate levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA), and catalase (CAT). Semen samples were utilized to measure their quality (motility, concentration, and vitality). Histopathological and immune histochemical techniques investigated the morphological changes in the testis. Rats treated with Levofloxacin showed significantly lower levels of serum LH, testosterone, FSH, testicular enzymatic NO, catalase, SOD, BAX, and BCL-2 immune reactivity and sperm quality but significantly greater testicular malondialdehyde and caspase-3 immuno-reactivity Compared to both control and zinc oxide resveratrol treatment. Zinc oxide resveratrol nanoparticles ameliorated the harmful side effects of Levofloxacin. Improvements were more pronounced in the co-treatment (LFX + Zn-RSV) Zinc oxide resveratrol group than in the co-treatment (LFX + Zno) Zinc oxide group. Zinc oxide resveratrol nanoparticles could be a possible solution for levofloxacin oxidative stress-induced fertility problems

Detailed investigation of the mixing field and stability of natural gas and propane in highly turbulent planar flames

In most practical combustion devices, the actual combustion process occurs within different mixture inhomogeneity levels. Investigating the mixture fraction field upstream of the reaction zones of these flames is an essential step toward understanding their structure, stability, and emission formation. In this study, the mixture fraction fields were measured for turbulent non-reacting inhomogeneous mixtures immediately downstream from the slot burner exit, using Rayleigh scattering imaging. The slot burner had two concentric slots. The inner air slot can be recessed at distances upstream from the exit of the outer fuel slot, allowing various degrees of mixture inhomogeneity. Mixture fraction field statistics and the two-dimensional gradient were utilized to characterize the impact of the air-to-fuel velocity ratio, global equivalence ratio, fuel composition, Reynolds number, and the premixing length on the mixture mixing field, and thus flame stability. These impacts were evaluated by tracking the normalized mean mixture fraction and mixture fraction fluctuation transition across the regime diagram for partially premixed flames. The results showed that the air-to-fuel velocity ratio was the critical parameter affecting the mixture fraction field for the short premixing length. Stability results showed that the level of mixture inhomogeneity mainly influenced the flame stability. High flame stability is achieved if a large portion of the inhomogeneous mixture fraction is within the fuel flammability limits