Bio- and Sequence Stratigraphy of Upper Cretaceous – Palaeogene rocks, East Bahariya Concession, Western Desert, Egypt

This work deals with the plankton stratigraphy of the subsurface Upper Cretaceous-Palaeogene succession of theEast Bahariya Concession based on planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils. The examination of the cuttings from five wells: AQSA-1X, KARMA-E-1X, KARMA-3X, KARMA-NW-1X and KARMA-NW-5X is biostratigraphically evaluated. It is possible to identify the planktonic foraminifera as well as the calcareous nannofossil biozones. The analyses of calcareous nannofossils revealed the presence of several hiatuses. Information obtained from well data such as seismic facies analysis for the studied area has enabled classification of the Upper Cretaceous Palaeogene succession into five major 2nd order depositional sequences, separated by four major depositional sequence boundaries (SB1, SB2, SB3 and SB4). The Upper Cretaceous-Palaeogene succession in the East Bahariya is dividedinto 17 systems tracts. These systems tracts are: 7 System tracts of probable Cenomanian age, (the sequence stratigraphic framework as well as the cycles and system tracts of the Cenomanian Bahariya Formation match well with thoseof CATUNEANUet al., 2006); 4 System tracts of Turonianage, 2 System tracts of Campanian-Maastrichtian ageand 4 System tracts of Eocene age.</p

Assessment of Serum Level of Paraoxonase-1 in Patients with Psoriasis Vulgaris

Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory dermatological disease with a strong genetic predisposition and autoimmune pathogenic traits. The hallmark of psoriasis is sustained inflammation that leads to uncontrolled keratinocyte proliferation and dysfunctional differentiation. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate serum level of paraoxonase-1 in psoriasis patients compared to control group. Patients and methods: This research included 50 psoriasis patients and 40 healthy controls that were comparable in age and sex to the cases category. They were chosen at random from the Outpatient Clinic of Dermatology Department, Mansoura University Hospitals. Results: Psoriasis group showed significantly lower level of paraoxonase-1 when compared to control group (median=35.6 versus 54.5; p &lt; 0.001). Additionally, median paraoxonase-1 level decreased gradually with increased psoriasis grades (p &lt; 0.001). No significant associations were found regarding paraoxonase-1 level according to gender, smoking, and FH in psoriasis group (p &gt; 0.05 for each). Paraoxonase-1 level showed significant negative correlation with PASI score (p &lt; 0.001), but not with age, onset, or duration (p &gt; 0.05 for each). Lower paraoxonase-1 level was considered as independent predictor of psoriasis development. Lower paraoxonase-1 level was considered as independent predictor of psoriasis severity (p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Paraoxonase-1 level in psoriasis patients had substantially lower levels than healthy controls. Paraoxonase1 level showed significant negative correlations with PASI score. Lower baseline paraoxonase-1 level was suggested to be independent risk predictor for psoriasis occurrence and severity

Management of Extremity Venous Thrombosis in Neonates and Infants: An Experience From a Resource Challenged Setting

We aimed to evaluate the outcome of different treatment modalities for extremity venous thrombosis (VT) in neonates and infants, highlighting the current debate on their best tool of management. This retrospective study took place over a 9-year period from January 2009 to December 2017. All treated patients were referred to the vascular and pediatric surgery departments from the neonatal intensive care unit. All patients underwent a thorough history-taking as well as general clinical and local examination of the affected limb. Patients were divided into 2 groups: group I included those who underwent a conservative treated with the sole administration of unfractionated heparin (UFH), whereas group II included those who were treated with UFH plus warfarin. Sixty-three patients were included in this study. They were 36 males and 27 females. Their age ranged from 3 to 302 days. Forty-one (65%) patients had VT in the upper limb, whereas the remaining 22 (35%) had lower extremity VT. The success rate of the nonsurgical treatment was accomplished in 81% of patients. The remaining 19% underwent limb severing, due to established gangrene. The Kaplan-Meier survival method revealed a highly significant increase in both mean and median survival times in those groups treated with heparin and warfarin compared to heparin-only group (P < .001). Nonoperative treatment with anticoagulation or observation (ie, wait-and-see policy) alone may be an easily applicable, effective, and a safe modality for management of VT in neonates and infants, especially in developing countries with poor or highly challenged resource settings