The Resistance to Salt of Brassica sps. and Improved Resistance by Direct Selection and Mutagenesis

Salinity is one of the most serious environmental stresses influencing agriculture drastically decreasing the production of crop plants throughout the world. Due to salinity thousands of hectares of agricultural land are going out of production annually. To cope with the salinity problem, there is keen interest in the development of crop plants displaying resistance to the effects of salinity. A series of experiments was carried out under controlled environmental conditions to determine salt resistance in Rapid Cycling Brassica species (RCB's) at germination early seedling and late growth stage. The effect of increasing salinity concentration was determined in vivo using a compost based growing system and also in-vitro using adapted tissue culture techniques. At germination and during the early seedling stage, low salt concentrations (50-100 mM) stimulated germination and had no significant effect on growth in B. rapa and B. rapa appeared to have greater salt resistance than B. napus. There was no association between salt resistance at the early seedling stage and that at the adult stage. At later growth stages, salinity affected both the relative fresh and dry weights and tissue ion concentration with K: Na balance affected in favour of Na. The relative salt resistance in the six Brassica species was associated with the reduction in the total fresh weight of shoots of salt-treatment plants expressed as the percentage of control but was not associated with K., Na concentration or K/Na ratio in shoots. B. napus and B. carinata showed the greatest salt resistance, B. juncea, B. rapa and B. nigra were intermediate whilst B. oleracea was salt sensitive. Conventional selection for salt resistance was not successful in this study because B. oleracea, B. napus and B. carina/a were not able to complete either their vegetative or reproductive phases and died before completion of the first selection cycle. Whilst, ten percent of plants of B. rapa, B. nigra and B. juncea managed to complete the first selection cycle they failed to complete the second selection cycle. Although, callus induction and maintenance were successful for all 6 RCB's, regeneration of shoots from callus was poor. Also, callus-based selection for salt resistance was unsatisfactory and had variable results and it was concluded that this was not a promising avenue for improving salt resistance in RCB's A cauliflower curd meristem technique was adapted for in-vitro mutagenesis and selection. Mutagenesis was carried out using two mutagens N-nitroso-N-ethylurea or nitroso-methylurea at 1 mM and 2.5 mM. 300 green shoots were recovered from more than 1 ,000,000 explants mutagenised in liquid medium supplemented with 3 mM hydroxyproline as a selection agent. Of eighty in-vitro shoots which where measured for proline content, twelve showed higher proline level than controls. Leaf strip assays of the twelve selected in-vitro shoots and in-vivo weaned plants exposed to a 3 mM and 10 mM hydroxyproline assay showed greater resistance than controls. A few selections also had cross-resistance to salt at 550 mM NaCl and to frost at -7 °C. These results successfully indicated the existence of great opportunities for the production of stress resistance cauliflower plants via mutagenesis and hydroxyproline selection

Alexithymia and Its Relationship to Some Factors Socialization of Students of the Faculty of Education, University of Taibah

The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a program based on symbolic communication in reducing challenging behaviors and improving social interaction among among individuals with autism spectrum disorder who have intellectual disability in Jordan. The sample of the study consisteded of (8) participants between (8-15) years, at Autism Specialized Center for Autism in Amman. To achieve the aim of the study, the scale challenging behavior, scale of social interaction, and the training program, were constructed. The validity and reliability of the tools were verified. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the scores of the participants in the pre and post applications of the Challenge Behavior Scale, and the differences came in favor of the post-test. The results also showed that there were statistically significant differences in the scores of the participants in the pre and post-test of the social interaction scale, and the differences came in favor of the post measurement. The study ended with recommendations related to the results.Key words: Program based on symbolic communication, challenging behaviors, social interaction, individuals with autism spectrum disorder who have a intellectual disability, Jordan

Microbial Degradation of Various Organic Pollutants Using Bacteria Isolated From Petroleum Sludge

Intensification of agriculture and manufacturing industries has resulted in increased release of a wide range of xenobiotic compounds to the environment. The extensive discharge of hazardous waste in industrial wastewater and the recalcitrant nature of some of these organic pollutants have fueled a strong interest in exploring efficient and environmentally friendly approaches for wastewater remediation. Bioremediation approaches can provide efficient, inexpensive and environmentally safe cleanup tools. In the present study, our main objective was to isolate novel bacterial strains from UAE petroleum sludge and to examine their abilities to degrade various aromatic pollutants, including azo dyes and emerging pollutants. We report here on the isolation and purification of novel bacterial strains from petroleum sludge that were capable of efficiently degrading various classes of aromatic dyes. Of these 12 isolates, extensive biochemical and optimization studies were carried out with the most promising strain, MA1. The optimum culture conditions of MA1 strain were found to be at pH 7, with 100 ppm dye concentration, and under aerobic condition. DNA sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene was carried out for the 12 bacterial strains and the data showed that the isolates belonged to two different bacterial species: Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas guariconensis. Confirmation of the degradation of the aromatic compounds by the chosen bacterial strains was done using HPLC and LC-MS/MS analyses. This novel strain, MA1, was able to efficiently degrade aromatic dyes (e.g. Toluidine Blue, Ponceau BS, Reactive Black 5 and Congo Red) and more importantly various emerging pollutants of human concern such as sulfamethoxazole, prometryn, and fluometuron

ASSOCIATION OF INTERLEUKIN-4 CYTOKINE AND IL-4Rα GENE POLYMORPHISM IN β-LACTAM ALLERGIC PATIENTS

 Objective: The present study was carried out to estimate the possible role of Interleukin-4 (IL-4)RαQ576R genes polymorphism in the development of immune reaction against penicillin, as well as to study the effect of IL-4 cytokine in regulating allergic reactions.Materials and Methods: Measurement of serum IL-4 concentration was done using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique; IL-4RαQ576R gene polymorphisms were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment lengths polymorphisms. Comparisons for statistical significance were performed using Mann–Whitney U-test.Results: Comparing with control subjects, there was a significantly increased level of IL-4 (348.53 pg/ml) in penicillin allergic patients versus (284.72 pg/ml) in sera of control subjects. The IL-4RαQ576R alleles were significantly higher in the penicillin allergic individual compared with apparently healthy control subjects.Conclusions: Data study suggested that IL-4 cytokine have some important roles in penicillin hypersensitivity reaction, additionally the IL- 4RαQ576Rgene polymorphisms might involve in modulating of penicillin hypersensitivity.Â

Effect of Self-Care Guidelines on Quality of Life for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Radiofrequency Ablation

Context: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered one of the most challenging tumors with high incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates. Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is one of the emerging therapeutic modalities used for the minimally invasive treatment in the management of early-stage HCC.Aim: This study aimed to assess the effect of self-care guidelines on the quality of life for patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma undergoing Radio Frequency Ablation. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to achieve the aim of this study. This study was conducted at the Interventional Radiology Unit, affiliated to Ain Shams University Hospital, on a purposive sample of 50 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma; 25 were randomly allocated to the study group, and 25 were allocated to the control group. A structured interview questionnaire for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation was used to collect the study data. It comprises three parts: Sociodemographic characteristics, assessment of patients' medical health, and knowledge about HCC and RFA. The second tool was the quality of life of cancer survivors questionnaire (pre /post-test), and finally, a patient-reported self-care practices assessment checklist (pre /posttests). Results: There were statistically significant differences between the study and control groups regarding their total knowledge about hepatocellular carcinoma and radiofrequency ablation therapy pre and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. There were highly statistically significant differences between both groups regarding the total quality of life, pre and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. In addition, there were highly statistically significant differences regarding total self-care practice, pre, and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. A positive correlation was revealed between total knowledge with total self-care practice and total quality of life (pre/posttest). Also, a significant correlation was revealed between the total quality of life and self-care practices post-self-care guidelines implementation at (p<0.001). Conclusion: Implementation of self-care guidelines improved patients' knowledge, quality of life, and self-care practices for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation. A simplified, illustrated, and comprehensive Arabic booklet including self-care guidelines should be available for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation. Replication of the current study on a larger probability sample is recommended to achieve generalization of the results. Further studies are recommended to assess factors affecting the quality of life for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation

Effect of Nursing Exercise Protocol on Hemodynamics and Functional Capacity among Patients after Cardiac Surgery

Context: Exercise interventions are the cornerstone of cardiac rehabilitation. The exercise program consists of respiratory physiotherapy, neck and shoulder exercises, walking, and cycling. The purpose is to prevent respiratory complications, neck and shoulder pain and increase the physical functional level.Aim: This study evaluates the effect of applying nursing exercise protocol on hemodynamics and functional capacity among post-cardiac surgery patients. Methods: Quasi-experimental research design utilized in the current study. A purposive sample, including 60 male and female patients, was classified equally into two equal groups; study group (n= 30) and control group (n= 30), collected through 14 months. This study was carried out in the inpatient cardiac surgery department and the outpatient cardiac clinic of Cardiothoracic Surgery Hospital in New Minia City. Four tools were utilized in collecting data; named Health Assessment Record; Six Minute Walk Distance Test; Modified Medical Research Council Scale (MMRC) for measuring dyspnea; and Nursing Educational Protocol Checklist. Results: Current study findings displayed an improvement of total distance walked among study groups compared to the control group. It also showed highly statistically significant differences between the groups related to total distance walked after 12th-week post-discharge documented by p-value (0.000).Conclusion: The current study findings concluded that the nursing educational protocol in the form of deep breathing, incentive spirometer; coughing, and early ambulation induces a significant improvement in hemodynamic variables and six-minute walk distance, recommending that hospitals should implement the nursing educational protocol as a routine hospital policy among all cardiac surgical patients in all age groups

Disease Control of Pulmonary Inflammatory Pseudotumor by Multidisciplinary Approach

Introduction: Inflammatory pseudotumor is a rare tumor of the lung, which is usually misdiagnosed as malignancy. Most of early cases are treated with complete excision, but advanced cases: radiation therapy, steroids and chemotherapy will be a part of treatment plan. Multidisciplinary approach can save many cases of inflammatory pseudotumor and other rare diseases.Case Report: we reporting a case of advanced inflammatory pseudotumor with had a long disease control with multidisciplinary approach in the form of chemotherapy, steroids, radiation therapy and surgery.Conclusion: Advanced IP of the lung is rare disease with unknown etiology, where multidisciplinary team is needed for diagnosis and treatment: maximum safe debulking, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and steroids can be the suitable combined treatment for many advanced case