A study on oxidative stress biomarkers and immunomodulatory effects of pesticides in pesticide-sprayers

AbstractThis work was conducted on 95 adult males from Al-Salheya Algadeeda-Sharkeya governorate. They were classified according to pesticides residues into control group (30 unexposed healthy adult males living in the same area), insecticides exposed workers group (55 adult males exposed to organophosphate and carbamates) and fungicides exposed workers group (10 adult males exposed to fungicides). The study was designed to investigate and compare the oxidative stress and immunomodulatory effects of pesticides exposure among agricultural workers according the level of pesticide residues in their blood which was measured by HPLC. The oxidative stress status has been evaluated by assessment of (SH-protein), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase (GR), total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde (MDA). In addition, the acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity was measured as a biomarker of toxicity. We used IgG, IgM, as immunological biomarkers to test the humoral immune function as well as TNFα as a biomarker of cellular immune function. Our result revealed statistically significant reduction of the activity of (AchE), antioxidant defense enzymes, total antioxidant capacity, IgM and IgG while, MDA and TNF levels showed significant elevations in insecticides-exposed workers versus control. Results of fungicides exposed workers revealed non-significant reduction of the activity of (AchE), antioxidant defense enzymes, IgM, IgG and TNFα levels while there was significant elevation of MDA level and significant reduction of total antioxidant capacity level

Gemox-Vinorelbine as Pre-Transplant Salvage in Diffuse Large B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients Single Institutional Prospective Phase II Study

Background: Salvage chemoimmunotherapy is given to determine the chemosensitivity of relapsed/refractory disease and to reduce the burden of disease prior to transplantation. There is no consensus regarding an optimal salvage regimen for all transplant-eligible patients, and the preferred approach varies by institution and clinician. Salvage chemoimmunotherapy comprises a combination of relatively high doses of non-cross-resistant drugs together with a monoclonal antibody against CD20 (eg, rituximab) and there is a trend towards selecting salvage regimen based on pathologic features of disease either germinal center DLBCL or Activated B-cell (ABC) DLBCL. Gemcitabine/oxaliplatin (GemOx), with or without rituximab, is a frequently used treatment of relapsed or refractory (r/r) aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL), and is NCCN -listed for transplant-eligible patients. Vinorelbine (vinca alkaloid) is a mitotic inhibitor which has shown encouraging early results in the treatment of heavily pre-treated relapsed or refractory lymphoma. In this study we explored the value of addition of vinorelbine(navelbine) to GemOx regimen in inducing more Complete remission (CR) in relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma.Aim: we investigated the efficacy and safety of Gemox-vinorelbine protocol as a pre-transplantation regimen in refractory and relapsed non Hodgkin lymphoma diffuse large B-cell type either Germinal Center B-cell or activated (ABC) B-cell type. Methods: Treatment consists of gemcitabine at 600mg /m2 on days 1 and 2, oxaliplatin 60 mg/m2 on days 1 and 2, vinorelbine 20mg/m2 d1 and dexamethasone 16mg/m2 d1-d4 repeated every 2 weeks d1, d15 with addition of Rituximab (375mg/m2) according to institute policy. Eligible patients were relapsed/refractory (R/R) NHL. Patients were recruited from Oncology Center Mansoura University during the period between December 2020 and September 2022 with a minimum follow of 6 months. Assessment was performed after 2-4 cycles of treatment by PET-CT. Results: Forty-five eligible patients (31 males ,69%) were treated with Gemox-vinorelbine ,the median number of treatment cycles was 3 (1-6).At the 1st re-evalution (after 2-4 cycles),forty one patients were eligible for treatment evalution,12 patients achieved complete remission(29.2%) , 10 patients achieved partial response(24.4%) , 3 patients had stable disease(7.3%) and 16 patients had progressive disease (39%).Patients who had partial response completed 2 more cycles (10 patients) ,4 of them achieved CR at 2nd re-evaluation (after 6 cycles) and 6 had a progressive disease .At least 3 cycles are needed for CR. A total of 16 patients achieved CR (39%). Eleven Patients proceeded to ASCT and 5 patients were rejected for bone marrow transplantation for causes like antithrombin III deficiency, one relapsed after stem cell collection, one considered to be in CR1 by bone marrow transplantation team. Gemox-vinorelbine protocol didn’t affect Stem Cell harvesting nor engraftment. Any Grade toxicities were thrombocytopenia (66.6%), anemia (35.5%), neutropenia (33.3%), febrile neutropenia (15.5%) Neuropathy (33.3%), mucositis (20%). Treatment related mortality occurred in one patient (NF progressed to septic shock).The median progression free survival (PFS) was 10.8 months and median OS was 12 months. Both PFS nor OS was affected by cell of origin of DLBCL either germinal Center (GC) or non-germinal center (non-GC). Significant predictors for OS were IPI, late relapse >12 months versus primary refractory and early relapse <12months and number of prior lines. Summary and conclusions: Gemox-vinorelbine had good activity as as a salvage regimen in R/R NHL(DLBCL) especially if used as 1st salvage in transplantation candidate patients

STUDY THE POTENTIAL ANTIOXIDANT EFFECT OF VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENTATION ON THE LEVEL OF EXTRACELLULAR SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE IN ASTHMATIC PATIENTS

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the potential antioxidant effect of vitamin D3 supplementation in chronic asthma patients.Methods: A total of 44 candidate patients were diagnosed with asthma allocated as Group 1 includes 20 patients assigned to receive conventional therapy for asthma and Group 2 includes 24 patients assigned to receive conventional therapy for asthma plus 2000 IU vitamin D3 tablet for 3-month period. Furthermore, 30 apparently healthy subjects were included in the study as a control group. Pulmonary function test, serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D levels, serum extracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD3) levels were measured before and after 3 months therapy.Results: The mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) both the measured and the percentage of predicted value showed a highly significant increase after 3 months treatment compared to pre-treatment value in both study groups (p<0.01). When compared to pre-treatment value, there was no significant increase in forced expiratory volume in one second to forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC) in Group 1 (p>0.05), nevertheless, Group 2 showed highly significant increase after 3 months (p<0.01). Approximately, 90-96% of adult asthmatic patients revealed vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml). Post-treatment with adjuvant vitamin D3 therapy, 25% of patients obtained acceptable level of vitamin D sufficiency (≥30 ng/ml). After 3 months of the treatment, Group 1 patients showed a significant decrease in mean SOD3 level compared to pre-treatment level (p<0.05), while Group 2 patients showed a significant increase in mean SOD3 level compared to pre-treatment level (p<0.05).Conclusion: Most of the asthmatic patients revealed vitamin D deficiency and supplementation with vitamin D3 reduce oxidative stress burden in those patients

Combined cosine-linear regression model similarity with application to handwritten word spotting

The similarity or the distance measure have been used widely to calculate the similarity or dissimilarity between vector sequences, where the document images similarity is known as the domain that dealing with image information and both similarity/distance has been an important role for matching and pattern recognition. There are several types of similarity measure, we cover in this paper the survey of various distance measures used in the images matching and we explain the limitations associated with the existing distances. Then, we introduce the concept of the floating distance which describes the variation of the threshold’s selection for each word in decision making process, based on a combination of Linear Regression and cosine distance. Experiments are carried out on a handwritten Arabic image documents of Gallica library. These experiments show that the proposed floating distance outperforms the traditional distance in word spotting system

Fungal metabolites in human health and diseases—an overview

Fungi produce a wide range of secondary metabolites. Some of these metabolites are toxic to humans and cause various health disorders, ranging from acute poisoning to chronic diseases. Contrary to this, some fungal metabolites are valuable sources in therapeutics, such as penicillin. Herein, researchers briefly highlight the role played by different fungal metabolites in human health and diseases and give an overview of the most common fungal genera

Assessment the Nurses' Knowledge about Family Planning Methods in Health Centers in Lattakia

This study aimed to assessing the knowledge of Nurses about family planning methods in Health Centers in Lattakia, Data collected from 1/12 /2018 to 1/2/2019. The sample comprised of 29 nurses whose working in Health centers – Reproductive Health Clinics. Tool in two parts  was been used. This study found that more than half of the nurses had average level of knowledge about family planning methods, the Knowledge about family planning methods weren't statically associated with nurses' demographics data. So it was recommended  to prepare training program about family planning methods for nurses, supply the nurses with  guides on family planning methods, and health centers with posters on family planning methods.   أجريت هذه الدراسة بهدف تقييم معلومات الممرضات عن وسائل تنظيم الأسرة في المراكز الصحية في مدينة اللاذقية في الفترة الواقعة بين 1/12/2018 وحتى 1/2/2019. وشملت الدراسة الحالية (29) ممرضة تعمل في المراكز الصحية- عيادات الصحة الإنجابية. تم استخدام أداة من جزأين، تم الطلب إلى جميع الممرضات المشاركات في الدراسة الإجابة على أداة الدراسة. وكانت أهم النتائج التي توصلت الدراسة إليها أنّ أكثر من نصف الممرضات لديهن معلومات متوسطة عن وسائل تنظيم الأسرة، ولا علاقة للمواصفات الديموغرافية للممرضات بمستوى معلوماتهن عن وسائل تنظيم الأسرة، لذا يُقترح إجراء برامج تدريبية للممرضات عن وسائل تنظيم الأسرة وخاصة الحديثة منها، توزيع دليل ووضع ملصقات عن وسائل تنظيم الأسرة في المراكز الصحية

Antinucleosome antibodies as early predictors of lupus nephritis

Background: The role of the nucleosome in the induction of antibody response in lupus mediated tissue damage especially glomerulonephritis, may provide a new insight in the early diagnosis and alternative therapeutic developments in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Objectives: To evaluate the frequency and specificity of antinucleosome antibody expression in SLE patients in relation to disease activity. Also, to assess their predictive value in subclinical lupus nephritis. Methods: This study included 26 patients with SLE and 52 control subjects (26 were healthy and 26 had juvenile rheumatoid arthritis "JRA"). Among lupus patients, 15 had clinical evidence of renal involvement. After clinical evaluation to calculate the SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI), measurements of urinary microalbumin and serum antinucleosome antibodies (antinucleosome specific, antihistone and anti ds-DNA antibodies by ELISA) were performed. Patients without clinical evidence of renal involvement were followed up for one year and measurement of urinary microalbumin was repeated at the end of the study period. Those who later developed microalbuminurea were categorized as patients with subclinical lupus nephritis. Results: The expression of the 3 studied antinucleosome antibodies was significantly higher among lupus patients as compared to JRA patients and healthy controls. Seropositivity for one or more antinucleosome antibodies was elicited in 84.5% of lupus patients. Serum levels of the 3 antinucleosome antibodies were significantly higher among lupus patients with clinical nephritis than those without nephritis. ANSAb had higher sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for subclinical lupus nephritis (100%) than antihistone and anti ds-DNA antibodies (43%, 100%, 100% and 50% respectively for either antibodies). All patients with lupus nephritis were seropositive for at least one of the antinucleosome antibodies, while those without clinical or subclinical nephritis were seronegative for the 3 antinucleosome antibodies. In 27.3% of patients with lupus nephritis, ANSAB was positive while both antihistone and ds-DNA antibodies were negative. Antinucleosome antibodies correlated positively with SLEDAI and cumulative steroid dose and negatively with corrected creatinine clearance. Conclusions: The observed sensitivity and specificity of antinucleosome specific antibodies as early indicators of subclinical lupus nephritis appear encouraging and deserve further analysis on a large scale in order to confirm their validity, especially in the anti ds-DNA seronegative lupus patients.Keywords: antinucleosome antibodies, antinucleosome specific antibodies, anti ds-DNA antibodies, antihistone antibodies, SLE, lupus nephritisEgypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2005; 3(2):54-6

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor in asthmatic children

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) regulates the cross-talk between the immune and nervous systems which may play an important role in asthma pathophysiology. Objective: This study was aimed to investigate the relation between BDNF and asthma exacerbation and severity, and to study its possible correlation to eosinophilic counts in blood and sputum. Methods: Twenty-seven asthmatic children were studied during both exacerbation and remission. According to acute exacerbation severity as assessed clinically and by peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), they were equally subdivided into 3 groups (mild, moderate and severe). Serum and sputum BDNF levels as well as blood and sputum eosinophilic counts were estimated in all patients in comparison to 30 healthy children with no personal or family history of atopy. Results: BDNF levels (in serum and sputum) and eosinophilic counts (in blood and sputum) were significantly elevated in asthmatic patients, whether studied as one group or subgrouped into mild, moderate and severe as compared to controls. Patients with mild, moderate and severe acute asthma exacerbation had significantly higher values of BDNF (in serum and sputum) and eosinophilic count (in blood and sputum) than the corresponding values measured during remission. The latter values were still higher than those of the control group. BDNF in serum and sputum indirectly correlated with asthma severity as evidenced by their negative correlation with PEFR. However, sputum BDNF correlated better with the severity of asthma exacerbation as evidenced directly by its significant increase with clinical severity. Both serum and sputum BDNF levels revealed significant positive correlations with eosinophilic count in blood and sputum among all studied groups. Conclusion: BDNF probably plays a role in the evolution of asthma exacerbation and it reflects the degree of asthma severity during exacerbation. It might also represent an objective indicator of remission and treatment efficacy. Studies with specific BDNF receptor antagonists or synthesis inhibitors are required as BDNF may prove to be a reasonable target for a new therapy in future.Keywords: BDNF, neurotrophins, bronchial asthma, asthma severity, neurogenic inflammationEgypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2003; 1(2): 102-

Sputum epithelial cell-derived neutrophil-activating peptide-78 (ENA-78/CXCL5) in asthmatic children: relation to eosinophil activation

Background: Epithelial cell-derived neutrophil-activating peptide-78 (ENA-78) is a chemokine that recruits and activates neutrophils, possesses angiogenic properties and promotes connective tissue remodeling. Thus, it could play a pathogenic role in allergic airway inflammation. Eosinophils are the major source for this chemokine in inflamed airways. Objective: To evaluate sputum ENA-78 expression and its relation to acute asthma exacerbations of varying severity, and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) as a marker of eosinophil activation, as well as eosinophil counts in blood and sputum. Methods: Sputum ENA-78 and serum ECP were measured by ELISA in 21 children during and after acute asthma exacerbation and 21 healthy matched controls. Patients were subdivided according to exacerbation severity into three equal subgroups; mild, moderate and severe. Results: Sputum ENA-78 was significantly higher in asthmatic children during acute exacerbation than controls (310.1±156.9 pg/ml vs 65.9±11.6 pg/ml, p < 0.0001). It was significantly higher in severe than moderate and in moderate than mild exacerbations, and was negatively correlated to the peak expiratory flow rate. Sputum ENA-78 showed significant positive correlations with serum ECP and eosinophil counts in blood and sputum. By follow up of patients with acute asthma exacerbation till remission of symptoms and signs, sputum ENA-78, serum ECP and eosinophil counts in blood and sputum decreased significantly, but their levels remained significantly higher than the control values. Conclusion: Sputum ENA-78 is increased during acute asthma exacerbation and it positively correlates with exacerbation severity and eosinophil activation. Thus, it may play a role in the evolution of acute asthma exacerbation and may be a future target for new asthma therapeutic modalities.Keywords: Bronchial asthma; chemokines; children; epithelial cell-derived neutrophil-activating peptide-78; eosinophils; eosinophil cationic protein; sputum markersEgypt J Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2007; 5(2): 55-6

Impact of a Designed Nursing Intervention Protocol about Preoperative Liver transplantation Care on Patients’ Outcomes at A University Hospital in Egypt

Background: Literature review cited that, Liver transplantation is now considered as the gold standard for treatment of patients with end-stage liver diseases and early liver tumors in cirrhotic livers. Patient education is vital to the safety and success of a transplant. Aim: the aim is to assess the impact of a designed nursing intervention protocol about preoperative liver transplantation care on patient’s outcomes as indicated by: patients` knowledge & practice mean scores, and complications developed. To fulfill the aim of this study, the following hypothesis was formulated: patients undergoing liver transplantation who will be exposed to the designed nursing intervention protocol about preoperative liver transplantation care will show better outcomes. Material and Methods: A convenient sample of 14 adult male and female patients admitted to Liver Transplant Unit at El Manial University Hospital were included, three of them were died with an attrition rate of 21.4%. Four tools were formulated to collect data pertinent to the study. 1- Sociodemographic and medical data sheet; 2- Pre/Post knowledge assessment questionnaire sheet, 3- Observational checklists, & 4- Complications assessment sheet. Structured interview, reviewing medical records, direct observation and physical examination were utilized for data collection. Results: a  significant statistical difference was found in relation to the total and subtotal mean knowledge and practice scores during different assessment periods  with P values (0.00 for both); as well, 45.5 %  of patients developed respiratory complications (pleural effusion) compared to 53.8 % of their correspondence who developed respiratory complications (pleural effusion, chest infection, and others), in addition, 9.1% of the studied subjects developed  rejection, and ascites as compared to (1.9 %, 5.7%) of their correspondence over the last consecutive three years respectively. Conclusion: Liver transplantation patients showed a positive improvement in their knowledge and practice in relation to breathing, coughing, & using respirometer exercises and range of motion. Replication of this study on a larger sample selected from different geographical areas is highly recommended. Key wards: liver transplantation, designed nursing intervention protocol, preoperative liver transplantation care, knowledge, complications, and patient`s outcome