MicroRNA-146a expression as a potential biomarker for rheumatoid arthritis in Egypt

AbstractBackgroundMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs, whose role in regulating diverse immune functions, suggests they might play a role as biomarkers for immune mediated disorders. Studies showed that miRNA-146a (miR-146a) expression is increased by proinflammatory cytokines and is an important modulator of differentiation and function of cells of innate and adaptive immunity.Aim of the workThe current study aimed to evaluate the expression of miR-146a as a potential biomarker for diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to explore its association with disease activity.Subjects and methodsThe study enrolled 50 Egyptian subjects divided into a patient group, which comprised 25 RA patients, and a control group which comprised 25 healthy individuals. The disease activity for the patients’ group was determined by simplified disease activity index. Relative quantification of miR-146a expression in whole blood was determined using reverse transcriptase quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction.ResultsThere were highly significant statistical differences between patients and healthy controls as regards miR-146a relative expression, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) (p<0.001). Highly significant statistical differences (p<0.001) were also found between different patients’ subgroups as regards miR-146a relative expression and ESR. miR-146a levels correlated positively with those of ESR, C-reactive protein and anti-CCP (p<0.001).miR-146a illustrated best performance in diagnosing RA, showing the highest sensitivity and specificity (96% and 100%, respectively) (AUC: 0.992 at a cut off value of ⩾2.16) compared to anti-CCP (sensitivity: 68%, specificity: 100% and AUC: 0.87 at a cut off value of ⩾22U/ml) and RF (sensitivity: 56%, specificity: 80% and AUC: 0.992 at a cut off value of ⩾13U/ml).ConclusionThis study demonstrated that miR-146a expression was highly significantly elevated in whole blood of patients with RA. Its diagnostic performance was better than anti-CCP and RF and its level of expression correlates with disease activity

A New Scheme for Ransomware Classification and Clustering Using Static Features

Ransomware is a strain of malware that disables access to the user’s resources after infiltrating a victim’s system. Ransomware is one of the most dangerous malware organizations face by blocking data access or publishing private data over the internet. The major challenge of any entity is how to decrypt the files encrypted by ransomware. Ransomware’s binary analysis can provide a means to characterize the relationships between different features used by ransomware families to track the ransomware encryption mechanism routine. In this paper, we compare the different ransomware detection approaches and techniques. We investigate the criteria, parameters, and tools used in the ransomware detection ecosystem. We present the main recommendations and best practices for ransomware mitigation. In addition, we propose an efficient ransomware indexing system that provides search functionalities, similarity checking, sample classification, and clustering. The new system scheme mainly targets native ransomware binaries, and the indexing engine depends on hybrid data from the static analyzer system. Our scheme tracks and classifies ransomware based on static features to find the similarity between different ransomware samples. This is done by calculating the absolute Jaccard index. Results have shown that Import Address Table (IAT) feature can be used to classify different ransomware more accurately than the Strings feature

Assessment of left ventricular functions in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using tissue Doppler imaging and its correlation with a novel cardiac biomarker

Introduction Cardiovascular diseases account for about 65% of diabetes-related mortality. Objective Noninvasive assessment of left ventricular functions in asymptomatic nonhypertensive nonischemic type 2 diabetics using echo heart and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) for detecting structural and functional cardiac abnormalities, and correlating them with levels of Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for early planning of management before passing into overt heart failure (HF) were the objectives of this study. Patients and methods We studied 55 patients with type 2 diabetes and classified them into two groups: 26 patients with less than 10 years diabetes duration and 29 patients with more than 10 years duration. Full history, fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, creatinine, lipid profile, BNP, ECG, conventional echo, and TDI were performed for all patients. Results In all, 45 (80%) patients out of 55 patients have diastolic dysfunction, classified as 15 (27%) with type 1 diastolic dysfunction, 26 (47%) with type 2 pseudonormal diastolic dysfunction, and four (7%) patients with type 3 diastolic dysfunction. Systolic dysfunction (ejection fraction <55) was present in nine (16%) patients despite absent HF. BNP was significantly high in patients with longer diabetes duration (P=0.008). There was a statistically significant difference in the BNP level between those with diminished systolic function and those with normal systolic function, P=0.001; yet no statistically significant difference was found between BNP and different groups of diastolic dysfunction (P=0.7). Conclusion Diabetic cardiomyopathy is an important diabetes complication. It varies from subclinical ventricular dysfunction to overt HF. Echocardiography is the standard diagnostic tool for diabetic cardiomyopathy. TDI can be used to quantitatively assess global, regional, systolic, and diastolic myocardial functions. Plasma BNP can be a prognostic rather than diagnostic test

Incidence of pulmonary hypertension in COPD and its relation to inflammatory marker interleukin-1

Abstract Background Many COPD patients present with severe PH defined by a pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) > 5 WU as measured by right heart catheterization (RHC), and inflammation is thought to be contributing strongly to pulmonary vascular remodeling in COPD besides hypoxia. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is thought to be a major cytokine that may be involved in development of PH in these patients. Objective This study aimed to identify the incidence of PH in COPD and its relation to inflammatory marker IL-1. Patients and methods One-hundred COPD patients underwent echocardiography and serum IL-1 analysis, and patients with high probability of PH underwent pulmonary artery catheterization using Swan-Ganz catheter. Results The mean serum IL-1 level was 82 pg/ml ± 22 pg/ml (the normal IL-1 serum level is known to be 0:5 pg/mL), 51% of the participants were categorized as having a low probability of PH, 35% was intermediate, and 14% was high. RHC results were as follows: mild combined pre- and postcapillary PH was diagnosed in 14.3% of the patients. Mild precapillary PH was found in 42.9%, making it the most common type. Severe combined pre- and postcapillary PH was noted in 21.4% of the patients. Severe precapillary PH was present in 14.3%. A significant positive correlations were observed between serum IL-1 and tricuspid regurgitation velocity (TRV) (r = 0.409, P < 0.001), estimated systolic pulmonary artery pressure (ESPAP) (r = 0.508, P < 0.001), and mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) (r = 0.410, P = 0.140). Conclusion Serum IL-1 is a potent predictor of a high probability of PH in COPD patients, and there was significant positive correlation between serum IL-1 and echocardiographic findings and PH probability and RHC findings in COPD patients

Comparative Effect of Allicin and Alcoholic Garlic Extract on the Morphology and Infectivity of Eimeria tenella Oocysts in Chickens

Avian coccidiosis remains one of the major parasitic diseases that threaten the global poultry industry. Since prevention is superior to treatment, this study focuses on eliminating the infection outside the host. To determine their effect on the viability of Eimeria&nbsp;tenella oocysts in vitro, allicin and alcoholic garlic extract, which are natural, less toxic, and inexpensive products, were compared to KOH 5% (chemical disinfectant) using an in vitro culture system. Three concentrations of allicin (45, 90, and 180 mg/mL) and alcoholic garlic extract (90, 180, and 360 mg/mL, were used. Subsequently, destructive and sporulation-inhibiting effects on Eimeria oocysts were detected using light and electron microscopy. Young chickens were infected with treated sporulated oocysts to determine their effect on infectivity. After 7 days pi, the percentage of excreted oocysts (oocyst shedding) was determined, and the chickens were slaughtered for histopathological examination of the cecal tissues. Under an electron microscope, allicin at a concentration of 180 mg/mL and alcoholic garlic extract at a concentration of 360 mg/mL demonstrate a high oocysticidal activity with severe destruction of the oocyst wall and the appearance of pores. In addition, both concentrations directly affected the infectivity of sporulated oocysts by reducing the shedding of oocysts and the pathological lesions of infected young chickens. We concluded that the ability of Allicin and alcoholic garlic extract to eliminate Eimeria oocysts makes them superior to chemical disinfectants as a disinfectant

Empagliflozin Protects against Haloperidol Experimentally-Induced Ovarian Toxicity

The present experiment aimed to identify the potential protective role of empagliflozin (EMPA) on haloperidol (HAL)-induced ovarian damage in female rats because of its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effects. EMPA was administered in the presence and absence of HAL. Thirty-two adult female albino rats were divided into four groups. Control group, EMPA group: received EMPA (10 mg/kg/day) p.o., HAL group: received HAL (2 mg/kg/day) p.o., HAL + EMPA group: HAL (2 mg/kg/day) combined with EMPA for 28 days. Serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) levels were measured. Ovarian oxidative stress parameters, besides inflammatory and apoptotic biomarkers, and ovarian Sirtuin-1 (Sirt-1) were evaluated. Ovarian histopathological examination and heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) immunohistochemical study were performed. HAL significantly increased serum levels of FSH, LH, and ovarian inflammatory, apoptotic, and oxidative stress biomarkers and decreased serum AMH levels and Sirt-1 expression. Histopathological findings of ovarian damage and high Hsp70 immunoexpression were detected. EMPA significantly normalized the distributed hormonal levels, oxidative stress, inflammatory, and apoptotic biomarkers with a prompt improvement in the histopathological picture and a decrease in Hsp70 immunoexpression. Accordingly, EMPA protected against HAL-induced ovarian toxicity by modulating the Sirt-1/Hsp70/TNF-&alpha;/caspase-3 signaling pathway

Relation between metabolic syndrome and psychiatric symptoms severity in women with premenstrual syndrome

Abstract Background Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a clinical condition characterized by recurrent moderate-to-severe affective, physical, and behavioral symptoms during the menstrual cycle. The present study aimed to assess the relation between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and symptoms severity in patients with premenstrual syndrome (PMS). This multicentric propensity score matched analysis included 300 women with PMS. They comprised 150 women with MetS and 150 women without MetS. Diagnosis of PMS was based on the validated Arabic version of Premenstrual Symptoms Screening Tool (PSST). For the diagnosis of MetS, we adopted the Harmonized Joint Scientific Statement (HJSS) on metabolic syndrome recommendations. Results The present study included 300 patients with PMS. They comprised 150 patients with MetS and 150 patients without MetS. Comparison between the studied groups regarding the demographic and clinical data showed that patients with MetS had significantly higher BMI (30.5 ± 3.0 versus 25.2 ± 3.5 kg/m2, p < 0.001) and longer symptoms duration (4.4 ± 0.9 versus 3.3 ± 1.1 days, p < 0.001). Patients with MetS included higher frequency of moderate-to-severe PMS (35.3% versus 20.7%, p = 0.005). In patients with MetS, it was found that patients with moderate-to-severe PMS have significantly higher BMI, younger age at menarche and longer symptoms duration. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified age at menarche [OR (95% CI): 0.7 (0.55–0.9), p = 0.005], PMS symptoms duration [OR (95% CI): 4.45 (3.0–6.6), p < 0.001] and MetS [OR (95% CI): 1.67 (1.34–2.53), p = 0.017] as significant predictors of moderate-to-severe PMS. Conclusions MetS is related to symptoms severity in PMS patients