The frequency of vitamin D deficiency among asthmatic Egyptian children

Background: Vitamin D plays a role in the pathogenesis of asthma as it has a potent immunomodulatory effect acting on the cells of the innate immunity. It also reduces the risk of respiratory viral infections which are important initiators of asthma exacerbations. Besides, it potentiates the antiinflammatory action of corticosteroids which are considered the mosteffective controllers of asthma. Objective: To detect the frequency of vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency among Egyptian asthmatic children and to correlate vitamin D levels to the severity of asthma. Methods: This case control study was conducted on 60 asthmatic children and 40 healthy controls. All were subjected to clinical history taking including history of sun exposure and asthma medications and full clinical examination. Laboratory investigations included measurement of serum calcium, serum alkaline phosphatase and serum 25-OH-D levels and lung functions (spirometery). Results: There was a significant correlation between vitamin D deficiency and severity of asthma, yet there was no significant relation between sun exposure and 25-OH-D level. Moreover, there was a significant relation between decreased serum 25-OH-D levels and the intensity of corticosteroid use. Vitamin D was also significantly lower in asthmatic patients with coexistent allergic rhinitis. Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in Egyptian children with asthma .Lower levels of serum vitamin D are associated with high asthma severity, reduced asthma control and increased corticosteroid use.Keywords: Vitamin D, Bronchial asthma, Egyptian, Childre

Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Screening of Some Novel Benzofuranoyl-pyrazole Derivatives against Liver and Cervix Carcinoma Cell Lines

A series of new pyrazole, thiazole and thiazolinone derivatives incorporated into benzofuran were synthesized by using 3-(benzofuran-2-yl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-carboxaldehyde as starting material. A total of 41 novel compounds were synthesized. Some of these synthesized compounds were evaluated for cytotoxicity activity against HEPG2 (liver carcinoma cell line) and HELA (cervix carcinoma cell line). The tested compounds (1, 2c, 7c, 8b, 9b, 13b and 14b) showed better activities at low concentration against the commonly used human carcinoma cell lines. A detailed synthesis, spectroscopic data and cytotoxicity screening for the new compounds are described.Keywords: Pyrazole, thiazolinone, benzofuran, benzofuranoyl-pyrazoles, cytotoxic screening, HEPG2, HELAPDF and Supplementry file attache

An improved design of a fully automated multiple output micropotentiometer

This paper describes in details a new design of a fully automated multiple output micropotentiometer (?pot). A prototype has been built at the National Institute for Standards (NIS), Egypt to establish this highly improved AC voltage source in the millivolt range. The new device offers three different outputs covering a wide frequency range from only one outlet. This valuably supports the precise sourcing ranges of low AC voltage at NIS. The design and the operation theory of this prototype have been discussed in details. An automatic calibration technique has been introduced through specially designed software using the LabVIEW program to enhance the calibration technique and to reduce the uncertainty contributions. Relative small AC-DC differences of our prototype in the three output ranges are fairly verified. The expanded uncertainties of the calibration results for the three output ranges have been faithfully estimated. However, further work is needed to achieve the optimum performance of this new device

Temperature effects on the electrical performance of large area multicrystalline silicon solar cells using the current shunt measuring technique

The temperature effects on the electrical performance of a large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell with back-contact technology have been studied in a desert area under ambient conditions using the current shunt measuring technique. Therefore, most of the problems encountered with traditional measuring techniques are avoided. The temperature dependency of the current shunt from 5ºC up to 50ºC has been investigated. Its temperature coefficient proves to be negligible which means that the temperature dependency of the solar cell is completely independent of the current shunt. The solar module installed in a tilted position at the optimum angle of the location, has been tested in two different seasons (winter and summer). The obtained solar cell short circuit current, open circuit voltage and output power are correlated with the measured incident radiation in both seasons and all results are discussed

Serum amino acid abnormalities in pediatric patients with chronic renal failure with and without history of thromboembolic manifestations

Background: Plasma amino acid concentrations have been reported to be abnormal in patients with chronic renal failure. L-Arginine has been used to improve endothelial function by increasing nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. The present study aim at investigating the status of plasma amino acids in pediatric patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) on regular hemodialysis (HD) with and without history of thromboembolic manifestations.Methods: The study included 21 hemodialysis patients subdivided into two groups (those with no history of thromboembolic manifestations and those with positive history of thromboembolic manifestations) The control group included 13 age and sex matched apparently healthy subjects, After careful history taking, clinical examination, the following laboratory investigations were performed: serum calcium, phosphate, albumin, and creatinine (for controls only), complete blood count (CBC) and serum amino acid analysis.Results: HD patients had a significantly lower concentration of threonine, valine, methionine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine and tryptophane than the control group (p= 0.032, 0.020, 0.046, 0.011, 0.000, 0.022, and 0.004 respectively). There was no significant difference between HD patients and the control group as regard aspartic acid, serine, asparagine, glutamic acid, proline, glycine, alanine, cystine, isoleucine, lysine, histidine, and arginine. The mean serum L-arginine level was lower in 61.9% of HD patients than the mean of the controls with no significant difference. L-Arginine concentration was not significantly different between HD patients with and without history of thromboembolic manifestations.Conclusion: Several abnormalities in amino acids were present in HD patients compared to controls. The mean serum L-arginine level was lower in 61.9% of HD patients than the mean of the controls with no significant difference. L-Arginine concentration was not significantly different between HD patients with and without history of thromboembolic manifestations. HD patients without history of thromboembolic manifestations had significantly lower glutamic acid concentrations and significantly higher phenylalanine concentrations than HD patients with history of thromboembolic manifestations.Keywords: Serum amino acid; Chronic renal failure; L-Arginin

Electrical performance study of a large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell using a current shunt and a micropotentiometer

In this paper, a new technique using a Current Shunt and a Micropotentiometer has been used to study the electrical performance of a large area multicrystalline silicon solar cell at outdoor conditions. The electrical performance is mainly described by measuring both cell short circuit current and open circuit voltage. The measurements of this cell by using multimeters suffer from some problems because the cell has high current intensity with low output voltage. So, the solar cell short circuit current values are obtained by measuring the voltage developed across a known resistance Current Shunt. Samples of the obtained current values are accurately calibrated by using a Micropotentiometer (μpot) thermal element (TE) to validate this new measuring technique. Moreover, the solar cell open circuit voltage has been measured. Besides, the cell output power has been calculated and can be correlated with the measured incident radiation

Concerns, perceived impacts and preparedness of health care workers in a referral hospital in Egypt in facing influenza (H1N1) epidemic

Objective. In Egypt, influenza A(H1N1) cases have been detected and deaths have been reported. The aim of this study was to investigate Concerns, Perceived Impacts and Preparedness of Physicians and Nurses of Chest Specialty Hospital in Cairo (Egypt) concerning Influenza A(H1N1). Methods. A questionnaire was applied to a total of 72 Physicians and 41 Nurses from Chest Specialty Hospital in Cairo (Egypt). Results. More than half of physicians (55.6%) were men, while most of nurses (92.7%) were women. The mean age in years of physicians was 36.6 ± 11.3 compared to 26.5 ± 8 in nurses. Physicians feel that they are at greater risk by their job to the pandemic100% compared to 87.6% among nurses and the difference is highly significant. More than one third of the studied physicians reported that they are not ready to face H1N1 pandemic. Residents feel less ready to face the danger of Influenza A(H1N1) compared with Consultants and Specialists/Assistant Specialists, with no statistical significant difference. In concordance, Residents reported less Personal Protective Equipment training compared with Consultants and Specialists/Assistant Specialists, with no statistical significant difference. All Consultants received Seasonal Influenza Vaccine compared with Specialists/Assistant Specialists (68.2%) and Residents (44.7%). Conclusion. Higher work related and non work related stress was found among physicians compared to nurses, which reflects the demand of more information and training courses for physicians about the pandemic nature and its consequences, complications, and methods infection prevention

Identification of a novel homozygous nonsense mutation in EYS in a Chinese family with autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Retinitis pigmentosa is the most important hereditary retinal degenerative disease, which has a high degree of clinical and genetic heterogeneity. More than half of all cases of retinitis pigmentosa are autosomal recessive (arRP), but the gene(s) causing arRP in most families has yet to be identified. The purpose of this study is to identify the genetic basis of severe arRP in a consanguineous Chinese family.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Linkage and haplotype analyses were used to define the chromosomal location of the pathogenic gene in the Chinese arRP family. Direct DNA sequence analysis of the entire coding region and exon-intron boundaries of <it>EYS </it>was used to determine the disease-causing mutation, and to demonstrate that the mutation co-segregates with the disease in the family.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A single nucleotide substitution of G to T at nucleotide 5506 of EYS was identified in the Chinese arRP family. This change caused a substitution of a glutamic acid residue at codon 1,836 by a stop codon TAA (p.E1836X), and resulted in a premature truncated EYS protein with 1,835 amino acids. Three affected siblings in the family were homozygous for the p.E1836X mutation, while the other unaffected family members carried one mutant allele and one normal EYS allele. The nonsense mutation p.E1836X was not detected in 200 unrelated normal controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The <it>EYS </it>gene is a recently identified disease-causing gene for retinitis pigmentosa, and encodes the orthologue of <it>Drosophila </it>spacemaker. To date, there are only eight mutations in <it>EYS </it>that have been identified to cause arRP. Here we report one novel homozygous nonsense mutation of <it>EYS </it>in a consanguineous Chinese arRP family. Our study represents the first independent confirmation that mutations in <it>EYS </it>cause arRP. Additionally, this is the first <it>EYS </it>mutation identified in the Chinese population.</p

Two Novel Mutations in the EYS Gene Are Possible Major Causes of Autosomal Recessive Retinitis Pigmentosa in the Japanese Population

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a highly heterogeneous genetic disease including autosomal recessive (ar), autosomal dominant (ad), and X-linked inheritance. Recently, arRP has been associated with mutations in EYS (Eyes shut homolog), which is a major causative gene for this disease. This study was conducted to determine the spectrum and frequency of EYS mutations in 100 Japanese arRP patients. To determine the prevalence of EYS mutations, all EYS exons were screened for mutations by polymerase chain reaction amplification, and sequence analysis was performed. We detected 67 sequence alterations in EYS, of which 21 were novel. Of these, 7 were very likely pathogenic mutations, 6 were possible pathogenic mutations, and 54 were predicted non-pathogenic sequence alterations. The minimum observed prevalence of distinct EYS mutations in our study was 18% (18/100, comprising 9 patients with 2 very likely pathogenic mutations and the remaining 9 with only one such mutation). Among these mutations, 2 novel truncating mutations, c.4957_4958insA (p.S1653KfsX2) and c.8868C>A (p.Y2956X), were identified in 16 patients and accounted for 57.1% (20/35 alleles) of the mutated alleles. Although these 2 truncating mutations were not detected in Japanese patients with adRP or Leber's congenital amaurosis, we detected them in Korean arRP patients. Similar to Japanese arRP results, the c.4957_4958insA mutation was more frequently detected than the c.8868C>A mutation. The 18% estimated prevalence of very likely pathogenic mutations in our study suggests a major involvement of EYS in the pathogenesis of arRP in the Japanese population. Mutation spectrum of EYS in 100 Japanese patients, including 13 distinct very likely and possible pathogenic mutations, was largely different from the previously reported spectrum in patients from non-Asian populations. Screening for c.4957_4958insA and c.8868C>A mutations in the EYS gene may therefore be very effective for the genetic testing and counseling of RP patients in Japan

Muscle invasive bladder cancer in Upper Egypt: the shift in risk factors and tumor characteristics

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Egypt, where bilharziasis is endemic, bladder cancer is the commonest cancer in males and the 2^ndin females; squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the commonest type found, with a peculiar mode of presentation. The aim of this study is to identify and rank the risk factors of muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) in Upper Egypt and describe its specific criteria of presentation and histopathology.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is an analytical, hospital based, case controlled study conducted in south Egypt cancer institute through comparing MIBC cases (n = 130) with age, sex and residence matched controls (n = 260) for the presence of risk factors of MIBC. Data was collected by personal interview using a well designed questionnaire. Patients' records were reviewed for histopathology and Radiologic findings.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The risk factors of MIBC were positive family history [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 7.7], exposure to pesticides [AOR = 6.2], bladder stones [AOR = 5], consanguinity [AOR = 3.9], recurrent cystitis [AOR = 3.1], bilharziasis [odds ratio (OR) = 5.8] and smoking [OR = 5.3]. SCC represented 67.6% of cases with burning micturition being the presenting symptom in 73.8%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>MIBC in Upper Egypt is usually of the SCC type (although its percentage is decreasing), occurs at a younger age and presents with burning micturition rather than hematuria. Unlike the common belief, positive family history, parents' consanguinity, exposure to pesticides and chronic cystitis seem to play now more important roles than bilharziasis and smoking in the development of this disease in this area.</p