Office-based Air-Fluid Exchange for Diabetic Post-Operative Vitreous Cavity Hemorrhage

Post-operative vitreous cavity hemorrhage (POVCH) is observed in 6-75% of eyes undergoing pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). We describe our technique for office-based Air fluid exchange (AFX) in the treatment of POVCH. Sixteen eyes (15 patients) with PDR and POVCH undergoing office-based AFX between January 2006 and November 2016 were retrospectively identified. The pre- and post- procedure visual acuity (VA) and complications were compared between eyes with and without traction retinal detachment (TRD). Medicare charges for office-based AFX versus PPV were also analyzed. Mean age at the time of AFX was 55.31 (± 8.02) years. Nine eyes (56.25%) had TRD prior to PPV and 11 eyes (68.75%) were pseudophakic. The improvements in mean (± standard deviation [SD]) logMAR VA at the last postoperative visit (3 - 8 months) were 1.38 (± 0.99), 0.82 (± 0.91) and 2.09 (± 0.53) in all eyes, TRD eyes and non-TRD eyes, respectively. Complications included cataract progression, hypotony, and recurrence of TRD and ghost cell glaucoma. The total cost of outpatient AFX was $1,409.59 less than that of PPV. Office-based AFX is a cost-effective alternative treatment for non-clearing diabetic POVCH with an acceptable risk profile

A NEW METHOD FOR SOLVING LINEAR PROGRAMMING PROBLEMS

ABSTRACT Anew method which does not depend on the simplex method for solving the linear programming (LP) problems is given. The proposed method is based mainly upon solving this problem algebraically using the concept of duality .The important of this method is that we are not based our work on vertex information which may have difficulties as the problem size increases. A simple example is given to clarify the developed theory of this proposed method

Office-based Air-Fluid Exchange for Diabetic Post-Operative Vitreous Cavity Hemorrhage

Post-operative vitreous cavity hemorrhage (POVCH) is observed in 6-75% of eyes undergoing pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). We describe our technique for office-based Air fluid exchange (AFX) in the treatment of POVCH. Sixteen eyes (15 patients) with PDR and POVCH undergoing office-based AFX between January 2006 and November 2016 were retrospectively identified. The pre- and post- procedure visual acuity (VA) and complications were compared between eyes with and without traction retinal detachment (TRD). Medicare charges for office-based AFX versus PPV were also analyzed. Mean age at the time of AFX was 55.31 (± 8.02) years. Nine eyes (56.25%) had TRD prior to PPV and 11 eyes (68.75%) were pseudophakic. The improvements in mean (± standard deviation [SD]) logMAR VA at the last postoperative visit (3 - 8 months) were 1.38 (± 0.99), 0.82 (± 0.91) and 2.09 (± 0.53) in all eyes, TRD eyes and non-TRD eyes, respectively. Complications included cataract progression, hypotony, and recurrence of TRD and ghost cell glaucoma. The total cost of outpatient AFX was $1,409.59 less than that of PPV. Office-based AFX is a cost-effective alternative treatment for non-clearing diabetic POVCH with an acceptable risk profile

Serum OX40 ligand: a potential marker of atopic dermatitis disease severity in children

Background: OX40 ligand (OX40L) and OX40 are members of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and TNF receptor (TNFR) super families respectively. Recent studies have indicated the critical involvement of OX40/OX40L interaction in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. To our knowledge, no data could be cited in literature concerning OX40L levels in serum or in other biological fluids of atopic dermatitis children. Objective: This study was done to explore the expression of OX40L in the serum of atopic dermatitis children with respect to disease activity and severity. Methods: This follow-up, case-control longitudinal study was conducted on 64 children as a stratified non-random sample; 34 with atopic dermatitis and 30 healthy children. Serum concentrations of OX40L were measured by sandwich enzyme immunoassay. The severity of atopic dermatitis was assessed according to the Leicester Sign Score (LSS), Simple Scoring System (SSS), Scoring Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index, and Objective SCORAD. Results: Serum OX40L levels (pg/ml) in atopic dermatitis patients were significantly elevated as compared to controls (176.6 ± 45.9) whether during flare (1007 ± 241.5) or quiescence (699 ± 198.5). There were significant positive correlations between serum OX40L levels and each of the LSS, SSS and SCORAD indices of atopic dermatitis disease severity, while it was insignificant regarding the objective SCORAD. However, when atopic dermatitis children were classified according to the objective SCORAD index of severity into mild, moderate and severe, it was found that the mean serum level in the severe group was significantly higher than the corresponding values of the mild or the moderate group. OX40L levels did not correlate with serum total IgE or absolute eosinophils count. Serum total LDH levels correlated positively with each of the serum OX40L levels and the LSS and SCORAD indices of severity. Conclusions: Serum OX40L level is an objective reliable marker of atopic dermatitis severity in children. It may be useful for follow up and may help to improve research and management of this disease. Blockade of interactions between OX40 on Th2 cells and OX40L on activated dendritic cells using an OX40L-specific monoclonal antibody could represent a novel strategy for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.Keywords: Atopic dermatitis, LSS, OX40, OX40L, SCORAD, SSS, TNFEgypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2009;7(1):15-2

Interferon gamma: is it a co-player in the pathogenesis of idiopathic nephrotic syndrome

Introduction: Idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS), the most common form of NS in childhood, was considered 4 decades ago as a systemic disorder of T cells, mediated through its released cytokines. To date, the exact incriminated cytokine or immunological mediator is not properly defined. Interferon gamma (IFN-γ), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, is thought to have a role in the provocation of the T cell mediated INS relapse, through promotion of T helper1 (Th1) differentiation and suppression of regulatory T cells (Treg). Aim of the study: to evaluate the immunopathogenic role of IFN-γ in children with steroid sensitive idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (SSNS) through monitoring the changes in its levels with disease course. Methods: This study included twenty-five newly diagnosed children with SSINS. They were all given full dose prednisolone, evaluated at initial diagnosis and at full remission as regards the serum level of IFN-γ. Results: Serum levels of IFN-γ were lowermost at time of diagnosis and increased with remission on corticosteroids. Conclusions: this study points to a role for the lower serum IFN-γ at diagnosis, in the immunopathogenesis of INS than at remission and the rise in its serum level might be a marker of remission induction, however this awaits confirmation in larger scale studies. Studies on renal biopsy specimens are needed to determine the exact renal in situ levels and effects of IFN-

Dominance and G×E interaction effects improvegenomic prediction and genetic gain inintermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrumintermedium)

Genomic selection (GS) based recurrent selection methods were developed to accelerate the domestication of intermediate wheatgrass [IWG, Thinopyrum intermedium (Host) Barkworth & D.R. Dewey]. A subset of the breeding population phenotyped at multiple environments is used to train GS models and then predict trait values of the breeding population. In this study, we implemented several GS models that investigated the use of additive and dominance effects and G×E interaction effects to understand how they affected trait predictions in intermediate wheatgrass. We evaluated 451 genotypes from the University of Minnesota IWG breeding program for nine agronomic and domestication traits at two Minnesota locations during 2017–2018. Genet-mean based heritabilities for these traits ranged from 0.34 to 0.77. Using fourfold cross validation, we observed the highest predictive abilities (correlation of 0.67) in models that considered G×E effects. When G×E effects were fitted in GS models, trait predictions improved by 18%, 15%, 20%, and 23% for yield, spike weight, spike length, and free threshing, respectively. Genomic selection models with dominance effects showed only modest increases of up to 3% and were trait-dependent. Crossenvironment predictions were better for high heritability traits such as spike length, shatter resistance, free threshing, grain weight, and seed length than traits with low heritability and large environmental variance such as spike weight, grain yield, and seed width. Our results confirm that GS can accelerate IWG domestication by increasing genetic gain per breeding cycle and assist in selection of genotypes with promise of better performance in diverse environments

Genome-wide landscape of runs of homozygosity and differentiation across Egyptian goat breeds

: Understanding the genomic features of livestock is essential for successful breeding programs and conservation. This information is scarce for local goat breeds in Egypt. In the current study, genomic regions with selection signatures were identified as well as runs of homozygosity (ROH), genomic inbreeding coefficients (FROH) and fixation index (FST) were detected in Egyptian Nubian, Damascus, Barki and Boer goat breeds. A total of 46,268 SNP markers and 337 animals were available for the genomic analyses. On average, 145.44, 42.02, 87.90 and 126.95 ROHs were detected per individual in the autosomal genome of the respective breeds. The mean accumulative ROH lengths ranged from 46.5 Mb in Damascus to 360 Mb in Egyptian Nubian. The short ROH segments (< 2 Mb) were most frequent in all breeds, while the longest ROH segments (> 16 Mb) were exclusively found in the Egyptian Nubian. The highest average FROH was observed in Egyptian Nubian (~ 0.12) followed by Boer (~ 0.11), while the lowest FROH was found in Damascus (~ 0.05) and Barki breed (~ 0.03). The estimated mean FST was 0.14 (Egyptian Nubian and Boer), 0.077 (Egyptian Nubian and Barki), 0.075 (Egyptian Nubian and Damascus), 0.071 (Barki and Boer), 0.064 (Damascus and Boer), and 0.015 (Damascus and Barki), for each pair of breeds. Interestingly, multiple SNPs that accounted for high FST values were observed on chromosome 6 in regions harboring ALPK1 and KCNIP4. Genomic regions overlapping both FST and ROH harbor genes related to immunity (IL4R, PHF23, GABARAP, GPS2, and CD68), reproduction (SPATA2L, TNFSF12, TMEM95, and RNF17), embryonic development (TCF25 and SOX15) and adaptation (MC1R, KDR, and KIT), suggesting potential genetic adaptations to local environmental conditions. Our results contribute to the understanding of the genetic architecture of different goat breeds and may provide valuable information for effective preservation and breeding programs of local goat breeds in Egypt

EFFECT OF ASCORBATE, SALICYLATE AND SILICATE ON POTATO PLANT UNDER WATER DEFICIT STRESS CONDITIONS

The effect of different concentrations of ascorbate (As) at 0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mM, salicylate (Sa) at 0, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mM , in addition to silicate (Si) at 0, 100, 250, and 500 ppm on potato plant subjected to different water regimes; three days interval (control), four days interval (4DI) and five days interval (5DI).  Photosynthetic pigments, free proline and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) concentrations, and plant dry matter percentage were determined. Also, tuber yield was recorded and the percentage of tuber dry matter was determined. Water deficit resulted in significant reduction in tuber yield, plant dry matter percentage beside significant increase in free proline and MDA contents. Meanwhile, effects on photosynthetic pigments content and tuber dry matter were inconsistent. The effects of using different concentrations of ascorbate (As) under water deficit provide a superior effect of As at 0.25 mM. Data revealed that ascorbate treatment enhanced tuber yield by improved Chl (a and b) and carotenoids content, with a promoted reduction in free proline content and MDA. Salicylate (Sa) treatment under water deficit exhibited partial enhancement in photosynthetic pigments; where, Sa (1.0 mM) increased Chl a under all water regimes and Chl b at control and 4DI water regimes. While Sa (0.5 mM) improved carotenoids content at 5DI water regimes. The positive effect of salicylate on tuber yield was obvious only at 5DI water regime; as salicylate concentrations (0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 mM) enhanced tuber yield by 65.61, 21.8 and 33.33%. Data exhibited that these increments were concomitant with a  reduction in free proline content and a slight increase in tuber dry matter. Interactive effects of Silicate (Si)/water deficit were variable with the concentration under the used water deficit regimes, where, Si (100 ppm), showed higher means of Chl (a and b) with a reduction in free proline contents, at both 4DI and 5DI. The higher tuber yield resulted only at 5DI. More pronounced effect, Si (250 ppm) exhibited increment of photosynthetic pigments, plant dry matter, tuber yield, along with slight reduction in MDA, particularly at 5DI. It could be concluded that silicate treatment alleviated water stress by improving carotenoids content, plant dry matter and reducing both free proline and MDA contents, which attributes enhancement in tuber yield under water deficit. Generally, lower concentrations of As, Sa and Si showed their benefits under higher water stress regimes

Genomic epidemiology of the first epidemic wave of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Palestine.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the novel coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to cause a significant public-health burden and disruption globally. Genomic epidemiology approaches point to most countries in the world having experienced many independent introductions of SARS-CoV-2 during the early stages of the pandemic. However, this situation may change with local lockdown policies and restrictions on travel, leading to the emergence of more geographically structured viral populations and lineages transmitting locally. Here, we report the first SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Palestine sampled from early March 2020, when the first cases were observed, through to August of 2020. SARS-CoV-2 genomes from Palestine fall across the diversity of the global phylogeny, consistent with at least nine independent introductions into the region. We identify one locally predominant lineage in circulation represented by 50 Palestinian SARS-CoV-2, grouping with genomes generated from Israel and the UK. We estimate the age of introduction of this lineage to 05/02/2020 (16/01/2020-19/02/2020), suggesting SARS-CoV-2 was already in circulation in Palestine predating its first detection in Bethlehem in early March. Our work highlights the value of ongoing genomic surveillance and monitoring to reconstruct the epidemiology of COVID-19 at both local and global scales