Effect of Green Light from Doubled Frequency Neodymium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) Laser in the Nanosecond Range on Rabbit’s Lens –In Vitro Study

 INTRODUCTION: The unprotected eye is extremely sensitive to laser radiation and can be permanently damaged from direct or reflected beams. The area of the eye damaged by laser energy is dependent upon the wavelength of the incident laser beam, duration of exposure and tissue characteristics. This study aims to investigate the effect of intense green light from doubled frequency Neodymium-Doped Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (Nd:YAG) (532nm) in the nanosecond range on the protein of rabbits lenses after short and prolonged (6, 18 seconds) exposures.METHODS: The fundamental wavelength (1064 nm) was frequency doubled in β- Barium Borate (BBO) crystal for second harmonic generation (SHG). Rabbits’ lenses were irradiated in vitro, and the effect of the laser was evaluated by comparing the protein concentration, structure and conformation by sodium dodecyle sulphate polyacrylamide electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).RESULTS: The results indicated a significant change in the soluble protein content, the molecular weights and the backbone structure of different lens crystallin fractions. These effects were more distinct when using laser with prolonged irradiation for 18 seconds than for 6 seconds.CONCLUSION: Irradiation with frequency doubled Nd-YAG green laser seem to be cataractous if the lens is exposed to laser that is intense enough to warrant thermal protein aggregation, folding and denaturatio

Interleukin 6 (IL6) as a predictor outcome in patients with compensated cirrhosis and symptomatic gall stones after cholecystectomy

Compensated cirrhosis means that the liver is heavily scarred but can still perform many important functions; many peoples with compensated cirrhosis have gall bladder stones. The advantages of laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) for most patients have been extensively published. However its benefits and successful use in patients with cirrhosis are less documented. The study compromised 50 patients with symptomatic gallstone in compensated liver disease and undergone either open cholecystectomy (OC) or laparoscopic cholecystectomy. These patients were randomized into two groups: Group I included 24 patients who underwent OC, and group II included 26 patients who underwent LC. Patient’s age, sex, clinical presentation and Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) class were documented. No patients in this study had CTP class c cirrhosis. IL-6 was measured by ELISA, postoperative pain (measured by Visual analog scale), hospital stay, blood loss, recovery time (return to work), and liver function tests were documented. IL-6 was significantly lowered at 6th hour and 12th hour post operative in LC group. Mean surgical time was significantly longer in OC than LC group, (mean ±SD, 96.6 ±32 vs 58.7 ± 23.8 min, P = 0.037). No patients in group II required any blood replacement in contrast to 9 patients (37.5%) in group I. Intraoperative bleeding remained significantly higher in group I (P = 0.043). No patients in group II had wound complications compared with 5 patients (29.14%) in group I. Group I had significantly longer hospital stay than group II, mean 9.0+ 1.3 days (median 7) vs 2.3 days + 1.9 (median 2.5); P = 0.001. Our results were demonstrated that laparoscopic cholecystectomy can be performed safely in patients with CTP class A and B cirrhosis. IL-6 was more significantly, increased post operatively in open cholecystectomy than laparoscopic one and it correlated well with intensity of operative trauma. Keywords: Interleukin 6; Liver cirrhosis; Cholecystectom

MORPHOLOGICAL AND ANATOMICAL VARIATIONS OF ANABASIS ARTICULATA ECOTYPES IN EGYPT

The present study has been carried out on ten stands of Anabasis articulata in Egypt. The relationships between the studied Anabasis articulata stands have been demonstrated as dendrogram based on the morphology, anatomy and some chemical constituents of the plants. Four characteristic ecotypes of Anabasis articulata have been recognized: (i) xerophytic ecotype in the stands of Belbase desert and Sudr El Hytat-Nekhl Road, (ii) xero - halophytiç ecotype in the stands of the Eastern Desert, Sinai Desert, Kattamia-Ain Sukhna Road, Isthmic desert (Fayid), Adabia and Saint Katherine, (iii) halophytic ecotype in the stands of the Red Sea Costal region, Ras Sudr and Hammam Faraon, Sinai and (iv) halo-xerophytic in the stands of the Nekhl-El Hasana and El Hasana-El Quseima Roads. These ecotypes differ, remark-ably, morphologically, anatomically and chemically. This may be due to the varia-tion in climatic and soil characteristics of the habitat

COMPARISON PHYTOCHEMICAL COMPOUNDS FROM TWO DIFFERENT SOLVENTS OF CRUDE CAPPARIS SPINOSA EXTRACTS

An experiment was conducted to evaluate different parts of the plant Capparis spinosa L. extracts for their phytochemical compounds by two different solvents (ethanol &hexane) . The current results showed the superiority of the ethanolic extracts by their quantity and quality of active compounds compared to the hexane extracts. The yield percentage of ethanolic Capparis spinosa L  extracts ranges between (3-31%), and color range between Dark brown, and olive with oily texture. Whereas, the yield of the hexane extract ranges between (1-27.9%) and it takes a longer time for extract with difficult to obtain, Ultimately, the results of the phytochemical analysis demonstrated the presence of numerous active compounds with higher degree of the sediment color in ethanol extracts such as: alkaloids, Phenols, Glycosides, Tannins, flavonoids and Saponin comparing with hexane extracts with lower color strength

Role of Programmed Cell Death-1 and Programmed Cell Death Ligand-1 immune checkpoint biomarkers among chronic Hepatitis C virus patients under Hemodialysis

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is one of the most common infections associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) in Iraq. Aim of the study: To determine the prognostic factor value of Programmed Cell Death-1 (PD-1) and Programmed Cell Death Ligand-1 (PD-L1) immune checkpoint biomarkers among CKD patients with HCV infection under HD. Methodology: ELISA technique was used for the measurement of the above-mentioned biomarkers in the serum of 90 Iraqi patients. The participants were divided into three groups; Group I included 30 patients infected with HCV without antiviral treatment, group II included 30 patients infected with HCV with recent/previous antiviral treatment, and Group III included 30 patients without viral infection (control group). Results: Serum levels of the measured biomarkers were elevated among all the participants, and highly statistically significant differences were found between patients with no treatment. The area under the curve (AUC) of PD-1 was 99% and for PD-L1 was 96%. Conclusions: The PD-1 and PD-L1 immune checkpoint biomarkers have excellent prognostic factor value as predictors for patients with CKD on HD infected with HCV

Extraction and Characterization of A Chromosomal Stain From Black Mulberry (Morus Nigra)

A dark-blue chromosomal stain from Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) wasextracted using organic solvents including dioxane, n-hexane, petroleum ether andacetone. This extracted stain stained chromosomes satisfactory. In order toascertain purity of the extracted stain, it was compared spectrophotometery withthree commercial standards stains; they are Azur II Eosin, Giemsa’s andMethylene blue Stains using a 200-900nm Spectrophotometric scan at threedifferent concentrations (25, 50 and 100mg/ml).It was found that the second peaks produced by Azur II eosin and Giemsastain (as well as the single peak produces by Methylene blue) occupied the samearea occupied by the second peak of the extracted stain, which agree to somedegree of similarity. The extracted method proved to be an appropriate analyticaltechnique with hope that further trials can be carrying out to simplify theextracting of the stain in future researches and make it less expensive

Egg parasitoids of the genus Trichogramma (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae) in olive groves of the Mediterranean region

A survey of egg parasitoids of the genus Trichogramma (Hymenoptera, Trichogrammatidae) was carried out in olive groves in Portugal, Greece, Egypt, and Tunisia during the years 2002–2004. Parasitoids were obtained either by exposing sentinel eggs (Sitotroga cerealella Olivier or Ephestia kuehniella Zeller) on olive trees or by collecting eggs of lepidopterous olive pests. Parasitized egg samples were reared separately in the laboratory for emergence of parasitoids. These were further reared in separate lines and processed by morphological and molecular biology techniques for species characterization. The recorded fauna of Trichogramma parasitoids in olive groves was species poor and consisted of species mainly known from the Mediterranean region. Trichogramma bourarachae Pintureau and Babault was found in Tunisia and Egypt, T. cordubensis Vargas and Cabello, and T. euproctidis Girault in Egypt, Trichogramma cacoeciae Marchal in Portugal, Greece, Egypt, Tunisia and Trichogramma nerudai Pintureau and Gerding in Portugal. Apart from that, Trichogramma oleae Voegele´ and Pointel was collected in Tunisia. This species is probably not indigenous, but has established after several releases of a French strain were made in recent years. For selected strains, the sequence of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) region of rDNA was determined and deposited in the GenBank database. Differences in important biological attributes were found among collected strains of T. bourarachae, suggesting the existence of biotypes. The results contribute to the limited knowledge on distribution and biodiversity of the genus Trichogramma in the Mediterranean region. They can be helpful for the preservation and use of indigenous Trichogramma species in biological control of lepidopterous pests in olive and other local crops

Bernoulli theorem, minimum specific energy and water wave celerity in open channel flow

One basic principle of fluid mechanics used to resolve practical problems in hydraulic engineering is the Bernoulli theorem along a streamline, deduced from the work-energy form of the Euler equation along a streamline. Some confusion exists about the applicability of the Bernoulli theorem and its generalization to open-channel hydraulics. In the present work, a detailed analysis of the Bernoulli theorem and its extension to flow in open channels are developed. The generalized depth-averaged Bernoulli theorem is proposed and it has been proved that the depth-averaged specific energy reaches a minimum in converging accelerating free surface flow over weirs and flumes. Further, in general, a channel control with minimum specific energy in curvilinear flow is not isolated from water waves, as customary state in open-channel hydraulics

Entwicklung nachhaltiger Pflanzenschutzstrategien zur Bek_mpfung von Schadschmetterlingen im olivenanbau

Current olive growing practices range from the traditional Mediterranean olive grove to intensively managed olive plantations. Insecticides against major olive pests, like the olive moth (Prays oleae, Lep.: Yponomeutidae) and the jasmine moth, (Palpita unionalis, Lep.: Pyralidae) are still applied frequently. The European Union-funded international research project TRIPHELIO is aimed at the development of economically feasible and sustainable insecticide-free control methods for key Lepidopterous pests of olive. Main research activities focus on (1) the use of pheromones for mating disruption and improved monitoring of target pests, (2) habitat management strategies to enhance the activity of natural enemies in the olive grove, and (3) the use of inundative releases of mass-reared egg parasitoids of the genus Trichogramma. Moreover, tools for successful integration of the methods developed into an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy for olive pests were explored by optimising techniques for surveillance as well as considering potential side-effects of common pesticides on beneficial organisms. An intense exchange of scientific information and technology between European and North African countries was undertaken to create solutions for a wide range of olive growing regions. Key results and recommendations for further essential steps towards practical implementation are presented in this publication.Zusammenfassung Traditionelle, extensiv bearbeitete Olivenhaine, aber auch moderne Intensiv-Plantagen mit k_nstlicher Bew_sserung und hohem Einsatz von D_ngern bzw. chemischen Pflanzenschutzmitteln kennzeichnen die derzeitigen verschiedenen Anbauformen der Olive im Mittelmeerraum. Schadlepidopteren wie die Olivenmotte (Prays oleae, Lep.: Yponomeutidae) und die Jasminmotte (Palpita unionalis, Lep.: Pyralidae) werden durch regelm_ssigen Insektizideinsatz bek_mpft. Das von der EU gef_rderte internationale Forschungsprojekt TRIPHELIO zielte auf die Entwicklung insektizidfreier Alternativmethoden durch (1) die Optimierung der pheromongest _tzten _berwachung und Verwirrtechnik, (2) der Anwendung von Habitatmanagement-Strategien zur F_rderung nat_rlicher Gegenspieler, und (3) dem Einsatz von Trichogramma-Schlupfwespen. Zus_tzlich wurden Module f_r eine optimale Anwendung biotechnischer und biologischer Methoden bez_glich der Ph_nologie der Schadinsekten und m_glicher Nebenwirkungen von Pestiziden erarbeitet. Die intensive Kooperation zwischen Wissenschaftlern und Praktikern aus mehreren L_ndern Europas und Nordafrikas erlaubte den Entwurf m_glicher L_sungsans_tze f_r verschiedene Anbaubedingungen und klimatische Regionen des Mittelmeerraumes. Die wichtigsten Ergebnisse und Ausblicke f_r eine zuk_nftige praktische Umsetzung werden in dieser Ver_ffentlichung beschrieben