Dermatoglyphics as a Non-Invasive Anatomical Marker in Early Childhood Caries

Background/Aim: Dermatoglyphics is supposed to be influenced by genetic and environmental factors and so also dental caries. Therefore, the present investigation was undertaken to find out a possible relation between some quantitative and qualitative dermatoglyphic variables and early childhood caries (ECC). Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 200 children in age group of 3 to 6 years from two private kindergarten, Egypt, and divided into 2 equal groups i.e. caries active group (n=100) and caries free group (n=100). The caries active group included children with dmft index = 4 or more and caries free group consist of normal, healthy children without any dental caries. The finger prints of both hands were taken using a stamp pad method then qualitative and quantitative data of dermatoglyphics were analyzed. Results: There was increase in frequency of whorls and decrease in frequency of loops in caries active group when compared to caries free group which was statistically significant (p = 0.000). The total finger ridge counts of whorls was higher in caries active children while total finger ridge counts of loops and the atd angles were higher in caries free children. The differences were statistically significant (p = 0.000). Conclusion: Early childhood caries susceptibility of an individual increased with increased frequency of whorl pattern but it decreased with increased frequency of loop pattern and increased atd angl

ENHANCING THE SUNSCREEN EFFICACY OF BEMOTRIZINOL MICROPIGMENT BY USING O/W NANOEMULSION TOPICAL PREPARATIONS

Objective: Bemotrizinol (BEMT) is the most efficient broad-spectrum UV-absorber having a dual mechanism of action in absorbing and reflecting photons. The main objective of this work was to develop successful oil in water (o/w) nanoemulsion for improving the solubility of BEMT and its protective characteristics. Methods: Pseudo-ternary phase diagrams were constructed using labrafac PG and isopropyl myristate as oil phase, tween 80 as surfactant (S) and cremophor EL as cosurfactant (CoS) the ratio of S/CoS was determined according to highest percent of water incorporation to the system. Full factorial study design (24) using Design-Expert® software was adopted to study the effect of four independent variables namely: oil type, oil concentration, S/CoSmix (3:1) concentrations and BEMT concentration on the particle size and the in vitro release at 2 h (Q2h) of the prepared nanoemulsion formulae. Two systems each of eight formulae were developed and evaluated through droplet size analysis, zeta potential measurement, refractive index, in vitro drug release and according to the desirability value two formulae (F6 and F14) were used for further evaluations including in vitro sun protection factor (SPF), ex-vivo deposition by tape stripping technique, permeation test and photostability study. Results: Formula (F14) was chosen as the optimum formula having an in vitro SPF of 16.08±0.39, lowest permeation of 140±0.06 μg/cm2after six h and highest photostability (t90% = 168.02) after 120 min. Conclusion: Despite the poor solubility of bemotrizinol, it could be enhanced by novel drug delivery systems with good SPF value while maintaining its photostability

TOPICAL BENZOPHENONE-3 MICROEMULSION-BASED GELS: PREPARATION, EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION OF MICROBIOLOGICAL UV BLOCKING ACTIVITY

Objective: Microemulsions (MEs) have been developed as active vehicles for sunscreens being physical sunscreens on their own.The aim of this study is to incorporate Benzophenone-3 (BZ-3), a chemical sunscreening agent into MEs resulting in a synergistic effect on its protective characteristics. Methods: Screening of BZ-3 in different oils, surfactants and cosurfactants available for topical delivery was carried out. A full factorial study design (3.22) was adopted to study the effect of three independent variables namely;BZ-3, oil, and S/CoSmix(1:1) concentrations on the in-vitro SPF value of the prepared ME gel formulae. Results: Formulae having SPF>30 were further evaluated regarding in-vitro permeation test. Finally, an in vitro microbiological assay was adopted to compare the survival percent of E.coli against UV exposure. Formula F11IPM ME gel consisting of 3% BZ-3 and 10% Isopropyl myristate as oil together with 60% w/w Tween80/Cremophore RH40 mix (1:1)as surfactant and cosurfactant respectively was chosen as the optimum formula having an in vitro SPF of 33.15±0.91,lowest permeation of 192±16.13µg/cm2 after eight hours and microbiological UV blocking activity of 88±5.84%which is not significantly different from the standard Spectra Ban plus (SPF=30) having a survival percent of 80±3.04%. Conclusion: This study illustrated the potential use of microemulsified BZ-3 delivery system to improve the SPF of BZ-3

Feasibility of Using VLS-PV Systems in the Future Egyptian Cities: Case Study Suez Canal Region

The international project, Very Large Scale Photovoltaic (VLS-PV), is considered one of the international promising projects that discuss the potentials for developing the world's desert by using large scale Photovoltaic plants. Urban-scale photovoltaic applications have been sponsored by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and discussed through Photovoltaic Power System Program (PVPS) through Task 10 in 2004, in addition studying the use of photovoltaic services for developing countries through Task 9 started in 1999. The tasks aim to improve the utilization of PV systems in the urban environment, as part of the global trends for maximizing building energy efficiency by using renewable energy systems. Studying the feasibility of VLS-PV projects for developing the deserts in Egypt and other Middle-East countries, has a wide interest in research activities through the last years, specially studying of the urban and architectural infrastructure for the proposed VLS-PV community and feasibility in the Egyptian desert, beside studying of socio-economic, energy, and developmental constituents of desert communities. Through the studies, VLS-PV project has been introduced as the most promising project that may combine the international trends regarding renewable energy and sustainable development, with the recent national developmental trends and proposed scenarios. In this context, the research paper presents the ability of using building integrated PV systems 'BIPV' to improve energy efficiency in the Egyptian' cities, throughout presenting case study of El-Mostakbal city in Suez Canal region, as a part of studying the feasibility of implementing VLS-PV stages. The research findings and recommendations are forwarded to the development of urban and architectural design strategy for the recent and future Egyptian cities, to be more adapted to use renewable energy integrated systems

Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography of Preclinical Chloroquine Maculopathy in Egyptian Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Purpose. To evaluate the role of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) in early detection of Chloroquine maculopathy in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Methods. 40 left eyes of 40 female rheumatoid arthritis patients who received treatment chloroquine for more than one year were recruited in the study. All patients had no symptoms or signs of Chloroquine retinopathy. They were evaluated using SD-OCT, where the Central Foveal Thickness (CFT), parafoveal thickness and perifoveal thickness, average Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer (RNFL) thickness, and Ganglion Cell Complex (GCC) measurements were measured and compared to 40 left eyes of 40 normal females. Results. The mean CFT was found to be thinner in the Chloroquine group (238.15 µm ± 22.49) than the normal controls (248.2 µm ± 19.04), which was statistically significant (p value = 0.034). The mean parafoveal thickness was lesser in the Chloroquine group than the control group in all quadrants (p value 0.05) in all quadrants. No significant difference was detected between the two groups regarding RNFL, GCC, or IS/OS junction. Conclusions. Preclinical Chloroquine toxicity can lead to early thinning in the central fovea as well as the parafoveal regions that is detected by SD-OCT

Functional importance of cardiac enhancer-associated noncoding RNAs in heart development and disease.

The key information processing units within gene regulatory networks are enhancers. Enhancer activity is associated with the production of tissue-specific noncoding RNAs, yet the existence of such transcripts during cardiac development has not been established. Using an integrated genomic approach, we demonstrate that fetal cardiac enhancers generate long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) during cardiac differentiation and morphogenesis. Enhancer expression correlates with the emergence of active enhancer chromatin states, the initiation of RNA polymerase II at enhancer loci and expression of target genes. Orthologous human sequences are also transcribed in fetal human hearts and cardiac progenitor cells. Through a systematic bioinformatic analysis, we identified and characterized, for the first time, a catalog of lncRNAs that are expressed during embryonic stem cell differentiation into cardiomyocytes and associated with active cardiac enhancer sequences. RNA-sequencing demonstrates that many of these transcripts are polyadenylated, multi-exonic long noncoding RNAs. Moreover, knockdown of two enhancer-associated lncRNAs resulted in the specific downregulation of their predicted target genes. Interestingly, the reactivation of the fetal gene program, a hallmark of the stress response in the adult heart, is accompanied by increased expression of fetal cardiac enhancer transcripts. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that the activity of cardiac enhancers and expression of their target genes are associated with the production of enhancer-derived lncRNAs

Microenvironment of mammary fat pads affected the characteristics of the tumors derived from the induced cancer stem cells

Breast cancer is the first common cause of cancer-related death in women worldwide. Since the malignancy and aggressiveness of breast cancer have been correlated with the presence of breast cancer stem cells, the establishment of a disease model with cancer stem cells is required for the development of a novel therapeutic strategy. Here, we aimed to evaluate the availability of cancer stem cell models developed from mouse induced pluripotent stem cells with the conditioned medium of different subtypes of breast cancer cell lines, the hormonal-responsive T47D cell line and the triple-negative breast cancer BT549 cell line, to generate in vivo tumor models. When transplanted into the mammary fat pads of BALB/c nude mice, these two model cells formed malignant tumors exhibiting pronounced histopathological characteristics similar to breast cancers. Serial transplantation of the primary cultured cells into mammary fat pads evoked the same features of breast cancer, while this result was perturbed following subcutaneous transplantation. The tumors formed in the mammary fat pads exhibited immune reactivities to prolactin receptor, progesterone receptor, green florescent protein, Ki67, CD44, estrogen receptor alpha/beta and cytokeratin 8, while all of the tumors and their derived primary cells exhibited immunoreactivity to estrogen receptor alpha/beta and cytokeratin 8. Cancer stem cells can be developed from pluripotent stem cells via the secretory factors of cancer-derived cells with the capacity to inherit tissue specificity. However, cancer stem cells should be plastic enough to be affected by the microenvironment of specific tissues. In summary, we successfully established a breast cancer tumor model using mouse induced pluripotent stem cells developed from normal fibroblasts without genetic manipulation

Software project planning through comparison of Bio-inspired algorithms

Currently many organizations have adopted the development of software projects with agile methodologies, particularly Scrum, which has more than 20 years of development. In these methodologies, software is developed iteratively and delivered to the client in increments called releases. In the releases, the goal is to develop system functionality that quickly adds value to the client’s business. At the beginning of the project, one or more releases are planned. For solving the problem of replanning in the context of releases, a model is proposed considering the characteristics of agile development using Scrum. The results obtained show that the algorithm takes a little less than 7 min for solutions that propose replanning composed by 16 sprints, which is equivalent to 240 days of project. They show that applying a repair operator increases the hypervolume qualit

Standard operating procedure for curation and clinical interpretation of variants in cancer

Manually curated variant knowledgebases and their associated knowledge models are serving an increasingly important role in distributing and interpreting variants in cancer. These knowledgebases vary in their level of public accessibility, and the complexity of the models used to capture clinical knowledge. CIViC (Clinical Interpretation of Variants in Cancer - www.civicdb.org) is a fully open, free-to-use cancer variant interpretation knowledgebase that incorporates highly detailed curation of evidence obtained from peer-reviewed publications and meeting abstracts, and currently holds over 6300 Evidence Items for over 2300 variants derived from over 400 genes. CIViC has seen increased adoption by, and also undertaken collaboration with, a wide range of users and organizations involved in research. To enhance CIViC\u27s clinical value, regular submission to the ClinVar database and pursuit of other regulatory approvals is necessary. For this reason, a formal peer reviewed curation guideline and discussion of the underlying principles of curation is needed. We present here the CIViC knowledge model, standard operating procedures (SOP) for variant curation, and detailed examples to support community-driven curation of cancer variants