Microfluidic Systems for Cancer Diagnostics

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in noncommunicable diseases coming right after cardiovascular diseases. Early diagnosis is a key for improving survival expectancy and treatment outcomes as cancer in early stage is more responsive to treatment. Currently, center of diseases control and prevention (CDC) recommend regular screening for cervical, breast and colorectal cancers. Although other screening procedures are available for prostate, pancreatic, thyroid and ovarian cancer, they did not prove to be effective in reducing mortality rates of these cancers. Adaption of prostate specific antigen (PSA) screening test for prostate cancer has not been related to improved survival rates instead it resulted in what has been known as “prostate cancer epidemic” due to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer. The dilemma of current cancer diagnostic techniques results from the trade-off between specificity and sensitivity of the cancer screening. Specific cancer screening strategies that depend on either imaging or histopathological examination are not sensitive enough and miss latent or asymptomatic cancers. While sensitive techniques that depend on biomarker screening in biofluids like PSA test are not specific enough for accurate decision. In addition, most of these techniques are time consuming, expensive and require centralized laboratories with highly trained technicians. These criteria limit the availability of cancer screening technique to developed countries with well-established healthcare systems and limit their application in areas with limited resources. The goal of this thesis is to develop and test techniques with promising specificity and sensitivity for screening and staging of different types of cancers. Several approaches have been studied to develop point-of-care (POC) sensors for prostate, head and neck cancers that are of low cost, utilizes low sample volumes, automated or semiautomated and can be utilized in remote areas with limited resources. 3D printing was used to prototype and mass produce microfluidic chips and adaptors with better fluid handling characteristics and much lower cost than traditional microfluidic systems. Panels of selected biomarker proteins were multiplexed on the same microfluidic chip to improve assay septicity while maintaining ultralow sensitivities

The Impact of firms\u27 compliance to shariah on stock price synchronicity

The continuous growth in Islamic finance over the past decades grabbed the interest of empirical researchers who investigated different aspects of Shariah compliant firms. In this thesis, we are interested to explore the impact of Shariah compliance on stock price synchronicity and informativeness. Our rational is that Shariah standard forced compliant firms to release more firm-specific information compared with conventional ones and given that Shariah compliant firms are more associated with information transparency taking into consideration the impact of the Shariah on the governance of the compliant firms. We claim that these features of Shariah compliant firms lead to less price synchronicity compared with conventional firms. We use data from 11 emerging and developed countries for the period of 2000 to 2018. Our findings suggest that firms\u27 compliance to Shariah has a significant negative impact on stock price synchronicity confirming that Shariah compliance decreases the co-movements of the stocks. The results are consistent with the unique characteristics and the financial ratio constrains of compliant firms increase the information transparency and accuracy

Integrated AVO inversion and seismic attributes for tracing hydrocarbon accumulation in Kafr El-Sheikh Formation, South Batra field, Nile Delta, Egypt: A case study

Utilizing advanced seismic techniques for delineating hydrocarbon accumulations in HST (High Stand System Tract) turbidite channel of Kafr El-Sheikh (KS) formation (Pliocene Age) located in the western part of South Batra field (SBF), Nile Delta – Egypt is investigated. 3D seismic data and four well logs helped in studying the properties of the channel. Three wells encountered the central part of the channel and showed thicker reservoir thickness than the fourth well, which encountered the levee. The channel is characterized by high porosity (25–30%) and relatively low water saturation (27–50%). The structural map showed that the channel is dipping towards the NE–SW. AVO analysis, scaled Poisson's ratio, post-stack seismic inversion, and seismic attributes confirmed the presence of Class III gas sand. Variance attribute helped in imaging the channel and faults. Maps generated from spectral decomposition showed that the dominant frequency is around 15 hertz. Results of integrating different techniques were consistent and successfully helped in determining the geometry of the channel, discriminating between different lithologies and fluids, in addition to delineating the sweet spots and recommended locations for drilling

Alternating magnetic field-promoted nanoparticle mixing: the on-chip immunocapture of serum neuronal exosomes for Parkinson’s disease diagnostics

The analysis of cargo proteins in exosome subpopulations has considerable value in diagnostics but a translatable impact has been limited by lengthy or complex exosome extraction protocols. We describe herein a scalable, fast, and low-cost exosome extraction using an alternating (AC) magnetic field to support the dynamic mixing of antibody-coated magnetic beads (MBs) with serum samples within 3D-printed microfluidic chips. Zwitterionic polymer-coated MBs are, specifically, magnetically agitated and support ultraclean exosome capture efficiencies >70% from <50 μL of neat serum in 30 min. Applied herein to the immunocapture of neuronal exosomes using anti-L1CAM antibodies, prior to the array-based assaying of α-synuclein (α-syn) content by a standard duplex electrochemical sandwich ELISA, sub pg/mL detection was possible with an excellent coefficient of variation and a sample-to-answer time of ∼75 min. The high performance and semiautomation of this approach hold promise in underpinning low-cost Parkinson’s disease diagnostics and is of value in exosomal biomarker analyses more generally

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020

3D-Printed Biosensor Arrays for Medical Diagnostics

While the technology is relatively new, low-cost 3D printing has impacted many aspects of human life. 3D printers are being used as manufacturing tools for a wide variety of devices in a spectrum of applications ranging from diagnosis to implants to external prostheses. The ease of use, availability of 3D-design software and low cost has made 3D printing an accessible manufacturing and fabrication tool in many bioanalytical research laboratories. 3D printers can print materials with varying density, optical character, strength and chemical properties that provide the user with a vast array of strategic options. In this review, we focus on applications in biomedical diagnostics and how this revolutionary technique is facilitating the development of low-cost, sensitive, and often geometrically complex tools. 3D printing in the fabrication of microfluidics, supporting equipment, and optical and electronic components of diagnostic devices is presented. Emerging diagnostics systems using 3D bioprinting as a tool to incorporate living cells or biomaterials into 3D printing is also reviewed

The protective role of honey against cytotoxicity of cadmium chloride in mice

The present study aimed to investigate the honey (HY) protective role in opposition to cadmium (Cd) induced chromosomal aberrations of bone marrow and sperm abnormalities. Forty five (45) adult male albino mice were caged into six groups. Mice were injected, i.p, 300 mg HY/kg and/or 0.67 mg CdCl2/kg b.w for 96 h, separately and alternated. The alternated trials were continued for consecutive eight days. Results show that mice injected with cadmium had significant increase in the frequency of aberrant chromosomes as fragment, centric fusion, gap, stickiness and aneuploidy and in sperm abnormality. The administration of HY improved the frequency of the chromosomal aberrations and sperm abnormality induced by Cd.Keywords: Cadmium, Honey, sperm, chromosome aberration

Response of fodder sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) to sewage sludge treatment and irrigation intervals in a dryland condition

A field experiment was conducted in the Experimental Research Farm of Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan to determine short-term effect of irrigation intervals (7 and 10 days) and sun-dried or composted sewage sludge, recommended mineral fertilizer on straw dry matter yield (SDMY) and N, P and K content of fodder sorghum and soil properties. In the 7 and 10 days irrigation intervals, composted, sun-dried sludge and mineral fertilizer have significantly increased SDMY over the control by 51, 98, 67 and 78, 19, 33%, respectively. Apparent N use efficiency (ANUE) in composted and sun dried plots irrigated at either 7 or 10 days was 9 - 36 and 16 - 74%, respectively. Reducing the irrigation interval has significantly increased salinity by 13%. Increasing irrigation interval has decreased bulk density by 5%. It could be concluded that, application of composted sludge is a useful practice for improvement of soil properties and consequent yield increase