Nano-probing station incorporating MEMS probes for 1D device RF on-wafer characterization

International audienc

Anti-Obesity Evaluation of Averrhoa carambola L. Leaves and Assessment of Its Polyphenols as Potential α-Glucosidase Inhibitors

Averrhoa carambola L. is reported for its anti-obese and anti-diabetic activities. The present study aimed to investigate its aqueous methanol leaf extract (CLL) in vivo anti-obese activity along with the isolation and identification of bioactive compounds and their in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition assessment. CLL improved all obesity complications and exhibited significant activity in an obese rat model. Fourteen compounds, including four flavone glycosides (1–4) and ten dihydrochalcone glycosides (5–12), were isolated and identified using spectroscopic techniques. New compounds identified in planta included (1) apigenin 6-C-(2-deoxy-β-D-galactopyranoside)-7-O-β-D-quinovopyranoside, (8) phloretin 3′-C-(2-O-(E)-cinnamoyl-3-O-β-D-fucopyranosyl-4-O-acetyl)-β-D-fucopyranosyl-6′-O-β-D fucopyranosyl-(1/2)-α-L arabinofuranoside, (11a) phloretin3′-C-(2-O-(E)-p-coumaroyl-3-O-β-D-fucosyl-4-O-acetyl)-β-D-fucosyl-6′-O-(2-O-β-D-fucosyl)-α-L-arabinofuranoside, (11b) phloretin3′-C-(2-O-(Z)-p-coumaroyl-3-O-β-D-fucosyl-4-O-acetyl)-β-D-fucosyl-6′-O-(2-O-β-D-fucosyl)-α-L-arabinofuranoside. Carambolaside M (5), carambolaside Ia (6), carambolaside J (7), carambolaside I (9), carambolaside P (10a), carambolaside O (10b), and carambolaside Q (12), which are reported for the first time from A. carambola L. leaves, whereas luteolin 6-C-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-2)-β-D-fucopyranoside (2), apigenin 6-C-β-D-galactopyranoside (3), and apigenin 6-C-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-2)-β-L-fucopyranoside (4) are isolated for the first time from Family. Oxalidaceae. In vitro α-glucosidase inhibitory activity revealed the potential efficacy of flavone glycosides, viz., 1, 2, 3, and 4 as antidiabetic agents. In contrast, dihydrochalcone glycosides (5–11) showed weak activity, except for compound 12, which showed relatively strong activity

Serum Amyloid A Level in Egyptian Children with Familial Mediterranean Fever

Background and Objectives. SAA is an acute-phase reactant detected during an FMF attack or other inflammatory conditions. High SAA levels may increase the risk of amyloidosis. The aim of the study is to measure the serum amyloid A (SAA) level in a group of Egyptian children with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and study its various correlates, if any. Methods. The study enrolled seventy-one children with FMF. Results. SAA level was high in 78.9% of the studied patients with a mean of 81.62±31.6 mg/L, and CRP was positive in 31% of patients. There was no significant releation between SAA level and any demographic or clinical manifestation. High SAA was more frequent in V726A allele (16.9%) followed by M694V allele (12.3%). Elevated SAA levels were more frequent in patients on low colchicine doses. Forty-five percent (45%) of patients have low adherence to colchicine therapy. Interpretation and Conclusion. High SAA levels were detected two weeks after last FMF attack in a large percentage of Egyptian FMF children. This indicates that subclinical inflammation continues during attack-free periods, and SAA could be used as a marker of it

Comparison between the Accuracy of Endoanal Ultrasonography and Body Coil MRI in Preoperative Assessment of Internal Opening of Perianal Fistula Complex

Abstract Background and Aim: Surgery for anal fistula is a commonly performed practice. Integral part of fistula surgery is identification of the internal opening if high recurrence rate is to be diminished. In this study, accuracy of endoanal ultrasound versus body coil M.R.I in detection of the internal fistula opening was evaluated by comparing both modalities with the intra operative findings as a standard reference

Injection Drug Use Is a Risk Factor for HCV Infection in Urban Egypt

OBJECTIVE: To identify current risk factors for hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission in Greater Cairo. DESIGN AND SETTING: A 1:1 matched case-control study was conducted comparing incident acute symptomatic hepatitis C patients in two "fever" hospitals of Greater Cairo with two control groups: household members of the cases and acute hepatitis A patients diagnosed at the same hospitals. Controls were matched on the same age and sex to cases and were all anti-HCV antibody negative. Iatrogenic, community and household exposures to HCV in the one to six months before symptoms onset for cases, and date of interview for controls, were exhaustively assessed. RESULTS: From 2002 to 2007, 94 definite acute symptomatic HCV cases and 188 controls were enrolled in the study. In multivariate analysis, intravenous injections (OR = 5.0; 95% CI = 1.2-20.2), medical stitches (OR = 4.2; 95% CI = 1.6-11.3), injection drug use (IDU) (OR = 7.9; 95% CI = 1.4-43.5), recent marriage (OR = 3.3; 95% CI = 1.1-9.9) and illiteracy (OR = 3.9; 95% CI = 1.8-8.5) were independently associated with an increased HCV risk. CONCLUSION: In urban Cairo, invasive health care procedures remain a source of HCV transmission and IDU is an emerging risk factor. Strict application of standard precautions during health care is a priority. Implementation of comprehensive infection prevention programs for IDU should be considered

SARS-CoV-2 infection in acute pancreatitis increases disease severity and 30-day mortality: COVID PAN collaborative study

Objective: There is emerging evidence that the pancreas may be a target organ of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This aim of this study was to investigate the outcome of patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) and coexistent SARS-CoV-2 infection. Design: A prospective international multicentre cohort study including consecutive patients admitted with AP during the current pandemic was undertaken. Primary outcome measure was severity of AP. Secondary outcome measures were aetiology of AP, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, length of hospital stay, local complications, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), persistent organ failure and 30-day mortality. Multilevel logistic regression was used to compare the two groups. Results: 1777 patients with AP were included during the study period from 1 March to 23 July 2020. 149 patients (8.3%) had concomitant SARS-CoV-2 infection. Overall, SARS-CoV-2-positive patients were older male patients and more likely to develop severe AP and ARDS (p<0.001). Unadjusted analysis showed that SARS-CoV-2-positive patients with AP were more likely to require ICU admission (OR 5.21, p<0.001), local complications (OR 2.91, p<0.001), persistent organ failure (OR 7.32, p<0.001), prolonged hospital stay (OR 1.89, p<0.001) and a higher 30-day mortality (OR 6.56, p<0.001). Adjusted analysis showed length of stay (OR 1.32, p<0.001), persistent organ failure (OR 2.77, p<0.003) and 30-day mortality (OR 2.41, p<0.04) were significantly higher in SARS-CoV-2 co-infection. Conclusion: Patients with AP and coexistent SARS-CoV-2 infection are at increased risk of severe AP, worse clinical outcomes, prolonged length of hospital stay and high 30-day mortality

Cooperativity Dominates the Genomic Organization of p53-Response Elements: A Mechanistic View

p53-response elements (p53-REs) are organized as two repeats of a palindromic DNA segment spaced by 0 to 20 base pairs (bp). Several experiments indicate that in the vast majority of the human p53-REs there are no spacers between the two repeats; those with spacers, particularly with sizes beyond two nucleotides, are rare. This raises the question of what it indicates about the factors determining the p53-RE genomic organization. Clearly, given the double helical DNA conformation, the orientation of two p53 core domain dimers with respect to each other will vary depending on the spacer size: a small spacer of 0 to 2 bps will lead to the closest p53 dimer-dimer orientation; a 10-bp spacer will locate the p53 dimers on the same DNA face but necessitate DNA looping; while a 5-bp spacer will position the p53 dimers on opposite DNA faces. Here, via conformational analysis we show that when there are 0–2 bp spacers, p53-DNA binding is cooperative; however, cooperativity is greatly diminished when there are spacers with sizes beyond 2 bp. Cooperative binding is broadly recognized to be crucial for biological processes, including transcriptional regulation. Our results clearly indicate that cooperativity of the p53-DNA association dominates the genomic organization of the p53-REs, raising questions of the structural organization and functional roles of p53-REs with larger spacers. We further propose that a dynamic landscape scenario of p53 and p53-REs can better explain the selectivity of the degenerate p53-REs. Our conclusions bear on the evolutionary preference of the p53-RE organization and as such, are expected to have broad implications to other multimeric transcription factor response element organization

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 years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37 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