Cost efficiency of Yemen Islamic banks: An inefficiency effects approach (2002-2014)

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Fecal Lactoferrin As A Diagnostic and Prognostic Marker in Egyptian IBD Patients

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are organic chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract characterized by variable disease activity with repeated periods of remission and exacerbation. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is prevalent in up to fifth of population; diarrhea type has the broadest differential diagnosis. To distinguish inflammatory versus functional disorder fecal biomarkers as fecal lactoferrin (FL), being non-invasive acute phase proteins produced by inflamed mucosa, can help to avoid invasive procedures. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess sensitivity and specificity of fecal lactoferrin as a non-invasive biomarker in Egyptian patients with IBD and to detect its role in assessment of disease severity. Patients and methods: This comparative case control study was held through one year duration. Patients were recruited from Internal Medicine and Hepatology Department at a University Hospital. 50 subjects were classified into 3 groups: Group I included 30 patients with inflammatory bowel disease, Group II included 10 patients with irritable bowel syndrome, Group III included 10 healthy subjects as control group. Results: fecal lactoferrin assay (FLA) levels were highest in patients with IBD in comparison with IBS patients and healthy group. Moreover FLA levels also correlated significantly with disease severity in patients with IBD as higher levels of FLA were found in patients with severe ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn`s disease. Conclusion: Fecal lactoferrin can be used to differentiate IBD from IBS with 96.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity at cutoff value of 37 ug/ml while at cutoff value 7.2 ug/ml FLA has 100% sensitivity and specificity in differentiating IBD patients from healthy subjects in Egyptian population. Yet it can’t differentiate ulcerative colitis versus Crohn’s disease

Role of Immunoglobulin E in the Pathogenesis of Psoriasis: Review Article

Background: In the general population, psoriasis affects two to three percent of people and is characterized by aberrant epidermal proliferation and inflammation. Several clinical subtypes exist for it. The most prevalent form of this disorder is chronic plaque psoriasis (CPP) that is characterized by well-defined, erythematous plaques with silvery scales on knees, scalp, and elbows. There is a chance that any part of the skin could be affected. High IgE levels are frequently linked to parasite infections and atopic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis and bullous pemphigoid. Research suggests that psoriasis pathogenesis could be correlated with an increase in IgE expression, which could be a prospective therapy target. Objective: Study the relation to immunoglobulin E in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Methods: The databases were searched for articles published in English in 4 data bases [PubMed – Google scholarscience direct] and Boolean operators (and, or, not) had been used such as [Immunoglobulin E and pathogenesis of Psoriasis OR IgE] and in peer-reviewed articles between January 2001 and October 2020. Conclusion: Overexpression of Immunoglobulin E may have a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis through several mechanisms. Hence, it could be a viable target to assess severity of psoriasis and follow up of treatment goals

Nitric oxide levels in chronic liver disease patients with and without oesophageal varices

Introduction Patients with chronic liver disease ultimately progress to develop cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Recently it seems well established that nitric oxide disturbances play a key role in the pathogenesis of chronic liver disease and portal hypertension. The aim of this work was to clarify the correlation between chronic liver disease stages, liver function status, esophageal varices presence and nitric oxide disturbances. Subjects and methods All subjects (n = 120) in the present study were classified into; group I which included 15 age and sex matched healthy volunteers (taken as control), group II which included 20 patients with chronic active hepatitis, and group III which included 85 patients with hepatic cirrhosis. All subjects included were subjected to full clinical assessment, routine laboratory investigations, serum nitrate level determination using colorimetric method, abdominal ultrasonography and upper endoscopy. Results Increased serum nitrate level could not be detected in patients with chronic active hepatitis as well as those with early cirrhosis (Child’s class A). Progressive and significant increase of serum nitrate levels were detected in more advanced stages of cirrhosis (Child’s class B & C). The best non-invasive predictor for the presence of oesophageal varices was a combination of platelet count <150.000/mm3, splenomegaly >18 cm, Child’s class B or C and serum nitrate ≥38 μmol/l, with 93.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Conclusion Serum nitrate level can be used as a non-invasive predictor for progression of chronic liver disease as well as for the presence of oesophageal varices

Evaluation of LL 37 Lipoprotein as Innate Immunity Marker among Sudanese Patients Cutaneous Leishmania

Background: The leishmaniasis is a group of diseases with a broad range of clinical manifestations caused by several species of parasites belonging to the genus Leishmania. LL-37/hCAP18, the only cathelicidin in human, is expressed as an 18-kDa preproprotein. The most prominent function of cathelicidins is their ability to inhibit propagation of a diverse range of microorganisms, which occurs at a micromolar range. Aim: The study was aimed to evaluate the LL37 plasma level in Leishmania Sudanese patients. Materials and Methods: In a case-control study, three hundred subjects were enrolled (200 as case and 100 controls). Five ml. of venous blood was collected in EDTA container, then plasma was obtained and stored frozen at -80ºC. LL 37 was estimated using competitive ELISA. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results: The results revealed that 115 (57%) of Leishimania patients were male and 85 (43%) were female. Plasma LL 37 level was significantly increased in Leishmania patients (1.30±0.71) compared to the control (0.21±0.20) with (p-value 0.000). Conclusion: Leishmania patients had higher levels of plasma LL37, suggesting effective anti-microbial immunity process enhancing healing of cutaneous leishmaniasis. Keywords: &nbsp;Cathelicidins; LL37, Innate Immunity, Leishmania , Sudan

Crystal structure of ethyl 4-amino-5-(5-methyl-1-(4-tolyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbonyl)-2-(phenylamino)thiophene-3-carboxylate, C24H23N5O3S

C24H23N5O3S, triclinic, P1̅ (no. 2), a = 9.1704(9) Å, b = 10.1253(11) Å, c = 12.2182(14) Å, α = 83.686(10)°, β = 89.542(9)°, γ = 76.982(9)°, V = 1098.5(2) Å3, Z = 2, Rgt(F) = 0.0551, wRref(F2) = 0.1510, T = 296(2) K

A recent look for the implication and attitude of practicing female genital mutilation in upper Egypt: a cross sectional study

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) was defined as the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia for non-medical reasons The Demographic and Health Survey in Egypt in 2000 showed that 97% of married women included in the survey had experienced female genital mutilation.Methods: This is a cross sectional study to evaluate the current prevalence of FGM, current attitude of our society towards it after illegalization of it as a cross sectional survey of Upper Egypt. The most important point in this study is our evaluation of intention of these women whom exposed to FGM toward mutilation of their daughters or not and reasons for that. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS software version 21.Results: The study included 1175 women, from whom 89.1% were circumcised. Type 1 FGM was the most prevalent type practiced in about 58% of participants. Immediate complications occurred in 42.5% of women. Primary hemorrhage during circumcision was the most commonly reported immediate complication among 38.5% of them. Sexual problems were found in 40.5% of participants. Sixty-four women reported occurrence of hepatitis virus infection after the procedure. Moreover, 44 women were suffered from infertility and 72 women had an episode or chronic PID. Women who intend to circumcise their daughters are mostly those coming from rural areas (p=0.000) and housewives (p=0.000). Most of women (45.8%) who have the intent to circumcise their daughters claiming that it is religious based.Conclusions: The prevalence of FGM did not differ between urban and rural or between house wives and employee, lastly did not differ between different educational levels as most of them were encourage it thinking that it is of traditional, religious base and protect the girl from any abnormal sexual excitation. The women who intent not circumcise their daughters were from low educational level in its highest percentage and this was explained by occurrence of higher percentage of complications in spite of the highest percentage of operator was physician

Prospective study for commercial and low-cost hyperspectral imaging systems to evaluate thermal tissue effect on bovine liver samples

Thermal ablation modalities, for example radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation, are intended to prompt controlled tumour removal by raising tissue temperature. However, monitoring the size of the resulting tissue damage during the thermal removal procedures is a challenging task. The objective of this study was to evaluate the observation of RFA on an ex vivo liver sample with both a commercial and a low-cost system to distinguish between the normal and the ablated regions as well as the thermally affected regions. RFA trials were conducted on five different ex vivo normal bovine samples and monitored initially by a custom hyperspectral (HS) camera to measure the diffuse reflectance (Rd) utilising a polychromatic light source (tungsten halogen lamp) within the spectral range 348–950 nm. Next, the light source was replaced with monochromatic LEDs (415, 565 and 660 nm) and a commercial charge-coupled device (CCD) camera was used instead of the HS camera. The system algorithm comprises image enhancement (normalisation and moving average filter) and image segmentation with K-means clustering, combining spectral and spatial information to assess the variable responses to polychromatic light and monochromatic LEDs to highlight the differences in the Rd properties of thermally affected/normal tissue regions. The measured spectral signatures of the various regions, besides the calculation of the standard deviations (δ) between the generated six groups, guided us to select three optimal wavelengths (420, 540 and 660 nm) to discriminate between these various regions. Next, we selected six spectral images to apply the image processing to (at 450, 500, 550, 600, 650 and 700 nm). We noticed that the optimum image is the superimposed spectral images at 550, 600, 650 and 700 nm, which are capable of discriminating between the various regions. Later, we measured Rd with the CCD camera and commercially available monochromatic LED light sources at 415, 565 and 660 nm. Compared to the HS camera results, this system was more capable of identifying the ablated and the thermally affected regions of surface RFA than the side-penetration RFA of the investigated ex vivo liver samples. However, we succeeded in developing a low-cost system that provides satisfactory information to highlight the ablated and thermally affected region to improve the outcome of surgical tumour ablation with much shorter time for image capture and processing compared to the HS system

Synthesis of new derivatives of the 1H-1,2,3-triazole ring using 1-aryl-5-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazides as precursors

Condensation of 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazide and phenyl isothiocyanate in ethanol in the presence of a catalytic quantity of triethylamine under reflux gave 5-(1-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-N-phenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-amine in 84% yield. 2-(2-(5-Phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbonyl)hydrazineylidene)-N-propanehydrazonoyl chlorides were synthesized, in 87–90% yields, by the condensation of 1-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazide and hydrazonoyl chlorides. In a similar manner, condensation of 1H-1,2,3-triazole-4-carbohydrazides and carbonyl compounds in boiling ethanol under acidic conditions gave the corresponding hydrazones in 88–92% yield. The structures of the new heterocycles were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectral data and X-ray crystallography

Synthesis and characterization of novel 2-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1 h -pyrazol-1-yl)thiazoles and 2-(4,5-dihydro-1 h -pyrazol-1-yl)-4-(1 h -1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)thiazoles

Reactions of 1-(5-methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)ethan-1-ones and benzaldehydes in ethanol under basic conditions gave the corresponding chalcones. Reactions of the chalcones combined with thiosemicarbazide in dry ethanol containing sodium hydroxide afforded the corresponding pyrazolin-N-thioamides. Reactions of the synthesized pyrazolin-N-thioamides and several ketones (namely, ethyl 2-chloro-3-oxobutanoate, 2-bromoacetylbenzofuran, and hydrazonoyl chloride) gave the corresponding novel 2-(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)thiazoles in high yields (77–90%). Additionally, 2-(4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-4-(1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)thiazoles were obtained in high yields (84–87%) from reactions with N-pyrazoline-thioamides and 4-bromoacetyl-1,2,3-triazoles under basic conditions. The structures of six of the newly synthesized heterocycles were confirmed by X-ray crystallography