Biodegradation of Organophosphorus Pesticide (Malathion) by Bacillus sp. FYM31 Isolated from Agriculture Drainage Water

Organophosphorus pesticides (OP) are used extensively in many arenas including agriculture and industry leading to humans and agroecosystems disorders. Malathion is one of the OP that are used in agriculture to control pest and protect crops. Also, they harm non-target organisms and affect cruelly water sources, air, and soil quality. The present study aimed to isolate and identify a potent bacterial isolate capable of degrading malathion. Bacterial strain that isolated from Al Fayoum governorate, Egypt exhibited high efficiency for malathion biodegradation. Biodegradation process using minimal salt medium (MSM) supplemented with different malathion concentrations indicated that the bacterium was able to degrade and use malathion as a sole carbon source up to 700 mg/l at 37°C.The potent strain that exhibited biodegradation potential was identified as Bacillus sp. FYM31 and deposited into GenBank with the accession number OK325597. HPLC proved the effectiveness of malathion removal by Bacillus sp. FYM31 after 12 days of incubation to the level of 70.1% malathion (700 mg/l) degradation. Organophosphorus hydrolase (opd) gene was detected in the potent Bacillus sp. FYM31 strain. Due to the widespread usage of malathion in Egypt's agricultural areas, Bacillus sp. FYM31 can help bio-remediate the polluted areas

Detection of Cancer Stem Cells in Colorectal Cancer: Histopathological and Immunohistochemical Study

BACKGROUND: Growing evidence supports the notion that the onset of tumorigenesis could occur through cancer stem cells (CSCs). These tumour cells show low proliferative rates, high self-renewal capacity, propensity to differentiate into active proliferating tumour cells & resistance to chemoradiotherapy thus, possibly causing local recurrences & metastasis formation. CD44 has been used as a marker to isolate CSCs from colorectal carcinoma (CRC).AIM: To investigate the immunohistochemical expression of cancer stem cells marker (CD44) in CRC and correlate its expression with the clinicopathological aspects, TNM staging and modified Dukes’ classification.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Tumour biopsies from colectomy specimens of 60 patients with CRC were stained with hematoxylin-eosin for histological evaluation then immunostained with monoclonal antibodies against CD44 which was detected in term of negative or positive expression.RESULTS: CD44 was demonstrated in 58.3% (35/60) of cases and showed statistically significant correlation with tumour site and histological type (p-value < 0.05). However, CD44 showed statistically insignificant inverse correlation with tumour invasiveness (T), lymph node status (N), grade, TNM stage grouping and modified Dukes’ classification, while it was directly correlated with distant metastasis (M) (p-value > 0.05). Chi-square /Fisher exact test proportion independence and the p-value are set significant at 0.05 level.CONCLUSION: the CD44 rate of expression is higher in the colon than rectum and in adenocarcinoma than mucinous and undifferentiated carcinoma. CD44 showed statistically insignificant relation with T, N, M, grade, TNM stage grouping and modified Dukes’ classification

Causes of death and survival analysis for patients with retinoblastoma in Jordan

PurposeTo analyze causes and prognostic factors for death among Retinoblastoma (Rb) patients treated at a single specialized tertiary cancer center in Jordan.MethodsWe reviewed the mortality causes for all Rb patients who have been treated at the King Hussein Cancer Center between 2003 and 2019 and were followed for at least 3 years after diagnosis. The main outcome measures included demographics, laterality, tumor stage, treatment modalities, metastasis, survival, and causes of death.ResultsTwenty-four (5%) of the 478 patients died from retinoblastoma and 5-year survival was 94%. The mean age at diagnosis was 15 months (median, 18 months; range, 4–38 months); eight (33%) received diagnoses within the first year of life. Eleven (46%) were boys, 16 (67%) had bilateral disease, and 3 (13%) had a positive family history. The stage for the worst eye was C for 1 (4%) patient, D in 6 (25%) patients, and E (T3) in 15 (63%) patients. Two patients had extraocular Rb at diagnosis, and four of the patients who had intraocular Rb at diagnosis refused treatment and then came back with extraocular Rb. In total, extraocular disease was encountered in six eyes (six patients). After a 120-month median follow-up period, 24 patients (5%) died of second neoplasms (n = 3) or metastases (n = 21). Significant predictive factors for metastasis and death included advanced IIRC tumor stage (p < 0.0001), the presence of high-risk pathological features in the enucleated eyes (p = 0.013), parental refusal of the recommended primary treatment plan (p < 0.0001), and extraocular extension (p < 0.0001).ConclusionThe 5-year survival rates of Rb patients in Jordan are as high as those in high-income countries. However, 5% are still dying from metastatic disease, prompting the need for awareness campaigns to educate the public about the high cure rates and to prevent treatment abandonment

Cut off values of waist circumference & associated cardiovascular risk in egyptians

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent guidelines stressed the need to adopt different values of waist circumference (WC) measurements to define abdominal obesity in different ethnic groups. The aim of this study is to identify WC cutoff points in normotensive and hypertensive subjects which are diagnostic of abdominal obesity in a Middle Eastern population and the prevalence of abdominal obesity in a nationwide sample.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were collected during phase-2 of the Egyptians National Hypertension Project survey. Blood pressure, anthropometric measurements and laboratory studies were performed according to a standardized protocol by trained personnel. To derive the cutoff points for WC, we applied the factor analysis on CV risk factors: diabetes mellitus, decrease in HDL-C and increase in LDL-C, triglycerides and left ventricular mass index by echocardiography.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sample included 2313 individuals above the age of 25 years. WC values (mean ± SD) were 88 ± 14 cm and 95 ± 14 cm for normotensive (NT) and hypertensive (HT) men respectively, and 89.6 ± 14.7 cm and 95.7 ± 15.9 cm for NT and HT women respectively. Applying factor analysis, the weighted average cutoff points were 93.5 cm for both NT and HT men and 91.5 and 92.5 cm for NT and HT women respectively. Based on these thresholds, the prevalence of abdominal obesity was 48% in men and 51.5% in women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first report of specific abdominal obesity cutoff points in a Middle Eastern country. The cutoff points were different from the Europid standards. There is a high prevalence rate of abdominal obesity among Egyptians which is associated with increased prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors.</p

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

A first update on mapping the human genetic architecture of COVID-19

peer reviewe

Lipid profile in Egyptian patients with coronary artery disease

Background: No data are available about plasma lipid profile in Egyptians with coronary artery disease (CAD). Plasma lipid profile may differ according to ethnic origin and geographic area. Objectives: Identify plasma lipid abnormalities in Egyptians with CAD and define the role of age, type of CAD, and the presence of hypertension (HT) on lipid profile. Methods: Retrospective consecutive sampling of lipid profile of 1000 patients with CAD. Results were compared to a control group of 1920 non-coronary individuals. Results: Patients’ age range was 19–90 years. HT was present in 56.7% of patients. The commonest isolated lipid abnormality was a reduced HDL-C in men and increased plasma triglycerides (TG) in women. Patients with myocardial infarction (MI) had a lower HDL-C than those with angina pectoris (AP). Abnormalities were more severe and more prevalent in the young age group. No significant difference in lipid profile was present between normotensive (NT) and hypertensive (HT) CAD patients. Conclusion: Dyslipidemia is common among Egyptians with CAD. Lipid profile was influenced by age, gender, type of CAD, but not by the presence of HT. The high prevalence rate of risk factors particularly among young Egyptians is remarkable and can explain the epidemic of CAD among Egyptians

Association of intercellular adhesion gene A with biofilm formation in staphylococci isolates from patients with conjunctivitis

BACKGROUND: There is a great negative impact of biofilm-mediated infection on patient health which necessitates the use of reliable methods for detecting biofilm producers. AIMS: This study was done to determine biofilm-producing ability and the presence of intercellular adhesion gene A in clinical staphylococcal isolates and to assess the reliability of two phenotypic methods used for biofilm detection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty staphylococcal strains were isolated from 100 conjunctival swabs from patients attended the Ophthalmology Outpatient Department of the Research Institute of Ophthalmology. Two phenotypic methods were used for detection of biofilm production; qualitative congo red agar (CRA); and quantitative microtiter plate. Polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the presence of icaA gene. RESULTS: In Staph aureus, 60% were positive biofilm forming and 40% were negative biofilm forming by both phenotypic methods. All positive biofilm-forming isolates were positive for icaA gene production. In coagulase negative staph, 50% were positive biofilm forming and 50% were negative biofilm forming by both phenotypic methods. All positive biofilm-forming strains were positive for icaA gene. All negative cases by CRA and microtiter plate methods were negative for icaA gene except two isolates. All staphylococcal isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility test to correlate biofilm formation with multidrug resistance in staph. CONCLUSION: There is high significant correlation between icaA gene presence and biofilm forming ability; however, the biofilm-forming ability of some isolates in the absence of icaA gene highlights the importance of further genetic investigations of ica-independent biofilm formation mechanisms