Can lactoferrin modulate the immunostimulant activity of levamisole in rats

Objective: The aim of this study was to study the immunomodulatory activity improvement of levamisole by using lactoferrin when applied to immunosuppressed rat model. Methods: The study was designed as follows, 140 male albino rats (250-280 g) 14 weeks old were used in our work. Rats were randomly divided into seven groups, 20 in each. The group I was kept as a control, group II was given cyclophosphamide (CYP) at a single intraperitoneal dose of (250 mg/kg body weight), group III CYP and lactoferrin (Lac) treated group, group IV orally administrated Lac only (0.5%) in drinking water, group V treated with CYP and levamisole, group VI administrated levamisole orally at a dose of (2.5 mg/kg body weight) and group VII was given CYP, Lac and levamisole. Animals were sacrificed and two separate blood samples were collected after 21 days from the beginning of the experiment for measuring the total and differential leukocyte count, serum total proteins, albumin, alpha globulin, beta globulin and gamma globulin, Nitric oxide (NO) production and lysozyme activity. Results: CYP group showed significant decrease in the above mentioned parameters, which were improved after administration of both lactoferrin and levamisole. Conclusion: Our study concluded that lactoferrin improve the immunostimulant effect of levamisole in CYP- immunosuppressed rats. J Clin Exp Invest 2014; 5 (1): 48-5

Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Early Childhood Care and Education in Semi-Remote Areas of Egypt: A Study of Policy and Provision

Early childhood care and education (ECCE) provision is an underdeveloped service in the Egyptian context and predominantly an urban phenomenon, it is also one which has been markedly under researched. This thesis applies a mixed-method quantitative-qualitative sequential approach to identify and consider the relationship between socio-demographic factors and ECCE provision in the semi-remote setting of Egypt’s region of North Sinai. In addition, it seeks to uncover the perceptions of ECCE stakeholders (parents, care practitioners and policy makers) towards the existing ECCE policy and provision. The findings indicated that the socio-demographic characteristics of parents and their children, in addition to the economically disadvantaged condition of the semi-remote area affected the availability, accessibility and quality of ECCE. More specifically, children’s age and health alongside parental characteristics such as education, marital status, income, employment and family structure, significantly impacted childcare arrangements. Furthermore,localised contextual factors, such as neighbourhood poverty and infrastructure were also found to be affecting childcare provision. The data suggest that the top-down approach to ECCE policy design and implementation is to be rendered inappropriate and ineffectual in dealing with the socio-demographic realities associated with ECCE provision in North Sinai

Efficiency of jojoba oil and bio-nematicide on Meloidogyne incognita and performance of flame seedless grapevine cuttings

The whole world is moving to lay off chemical pesticides and replaced with natural compounds. Fortunately, jojoba oil is one of these alternatives, being a special type of plant oils containing many compounds that can improve growth, nutritional status of plants and tolerance to nematodes infection. The present study was conducted during the successive growing seasons 2015 and 2016, in the Pomology greenhouse, NRC, Dokki, Giza, Egypt. Flame Seedless grapevine cuttings (one year old) were selected to study the effect of jojoba oil at 5 and 10 %, either with or without Meloidogyne incognita infection and Bio-Nematicide “Nema-Foo®” at 5 and 10 %, with infection, was a comparison factor in addition to the control (uninfected  and infected plants). These factors were investigated on cuttings' growth characters, nutrient contents and controlling the root-knot nematode. In general, the obtained results revealed that all treatments encouraged most of the investigated vegetative growth measurements and leaf nutrient contents. Meanwhile, they reduced Meloidogyne incognita numbers of juveniles (J2) in soil. Moreover, J2 galls and egg-masses were minimized in roots of grapevine cuttings as well as rate of build-up, comparing with the control (infected) plants, especially higher concentrations of these materials.

Health Belief Model Based Intervention for Improving Nursing Students’ Knowledge and Behavior Regarding Osteoporosis Prevention

Osteoporosis is a preventable chronic disease that begins during childhood. It is a silent killer not diagnosed until an individual presents with a low impact fracture. Health belief model (HBM) based intervention increase awareness of risk factors and preventive behaviors. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the effect of health belief model based intervention on nursing students’ knowledge and behavior regarding osteoporosis prevention. Sample: A convenient sample of 100 female nursing students was included. Setting: The study was conducted at Applied Medical Sciences Collage, nursing department in Al Dawadmi, from September -November 2013. Data were collected before and after one month from the intervention. Results: Students knowledge about osteoporosis was improved significantly post implementation of the HBM based intervention, also there was a significant difference between students perception regarding health believe subscale before and after the HBM based intervention. Also osteoporosis protective behaviors among students were significantly changed post the intervention and there was a significant correlation between their knowledge, perception and level of calcium intake & daily activity post the intervention. Conclusion: Osteoporosis is a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences which need HBM based educational intervention during the adulthood stage to improve adult female knowledge, maintain osteoporosis preventive behaviors, and improve their health believes. Key words: Health belief model (HBM) based intervention, osteoporosis prevention, nursing students

One-pot three-component synthesis of peptidomimics for investigation of antibacterial and antineoplastic properties

AbstractThe α-hydroxyphosphonate generated from dialkyl phosphites and 1-phenyl-1H-pyrazole-4-carbaldehyde derivative was, in situ, trapped by isothiocyanates, isocyanates or acetic anhydride to produce dialkyl phosphorylmethyl-carbamothioates, -carbamates and/or -methyl acetates in good yields. The reactions were carried out in tetrahydrofuran (THF) in one step at room temperature, using K2CO3 catalyst. Antimicrobial and antineoplastic activities of the synthesized compounds were estimated. The results showed that all new compounds cause moderate to good antibiotic activities. However, phosphorylmethylcarbamothioates exhibited the highest growth inhibition. Furthermore, selected nine new synthesized compounds were evaluated for anticancer activity against eight human tumor cell lines (MCF7, MDA-MB-435, BT-549, IGROVI, SK-OV-3, PX-3, PU-145, and HEPG2). The majority of these compounds revealed moderate to potent activity against MCF7, PU-145, and HEPG2. Among them, two of the phosphorylmethylcarbamothioates showed excellent broad spectrum of anticancer activity with IC50 values ranging from 16.6 to 26.9 and 17.2 to 36.9μmolL−1, respectively (for 5-fluorouracil IC50: 17.7 to 38.8μmolL−1). Phosphorylmethyl methylcarbamothioate, in particular was more potent than 5-fluorouracil against all tested human carcinoma cell lines

Some applications of subordination theorems associated with fractional qq-calculus operator

summary:Using the operator $\frak {D}_{q,\varrho }^{m}(\lambda ,l)$, we introduce the subclasses $\frak {Y}^{*m}_{q,\varrho }(l,\lambda ,\gamma )$ and $\frak {K}^{*m}_{q,\varrho }(l,\lambda ,\gamma )$ of normalized analytic functions. Among the results investigated for each of these function classes, we derive some subordination results involving the Hadamard product of the associated functions. The interesting consequences of some of these subordination results are also discussed. Also, we derive integral means results for these classes

Ontogenesis of the Sella Turcica among Egyptians: Forensic and Radiological Study

Introduction: The sella turcica has gained importance as a stable bony landmark in cephalometric studies. Aim of the work: The aim of the work was to explore the changes that accompany postnatal ontogeny of the sella turcica until full development, and to verify its contribution in age estimation and sexual assignment among Egyptians. Subjects and methods: Six selected measurements of the sella turcica of 215 Egyptian patients were assessed using Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT). The patients represented different ages and were referred to the Radiodiagnosis and Intervention Department. The gathered data were then subjected to statistical analysis including correlation and regression analysis. Results: The measurements of the sella showed a strong correlation with age. Three selected measurements demonstrated significant sexual dimorphism (sella width, sella height anterior and median in the subjects aged 20 to 25 years). Six regression equations were derived. The accuracy achieved by the combined parameters in the younger group (aged less than 25 years) was higher than that of the older individuals. Conclusion: The results achieved from the current study are useful tools in the determination of age and sex in both forensic and bio-archeological disciplines. However, further studies concerning the shape are strongly suggested

Using Studio-Based Learning for Enhancing EFL Preservice Teachers’ Pedagogical Knowledge and Investigating the Effect on their Pedagogical Content Knowledge

This research utilized a studio-based learning classroom to enhance students/teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and investigated the effect of this treatment on their pedagogical content knowledge. Participants of the research were pre-tested and divided into an experimental group (n=38) and a control group (n=38). The research employed a pre/post pedagogical knowledge test and an analytic pedagogical content knowledge rubric. The experiment lasted for 2 months during which the experimental group members were trained in a collaborative studio classroom on classroom management and lesson planning. Traditional lectures on the same topics were delivered to the control group. Upon the completion of the experiment, the participants were post-tested. When statistical analysis was done, it was found that a significant difference existed between the mean scores of the experimental and control groups on the post- administration of both the test and the rubric. Moreover, the proposed studio-based learning classroom was found to be of a large effect size on enhancing the pedagogical knowledge of the targeted topics of the experimental group. So, it was concluded that it had a greater effect size in enhancing the targeted pedagogical knowledge topics for the experimental group than the traditional lecturing for the control group. It seemed also that a positive correlation existed between enhancing students/teachers’ pedagogical knowledge and developing their pedagogical content knowledge. So, the research recommended that: (1) As students’ pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge are not less important than their content knowledge, they should be given more attention in Egyptian EFL faculties of education. (2) Developing EFL prospective teachers' pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge via studio-based learning is worthwhile and requires more investigation. Keywords: Pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, studio-based learning, EFL students/teachers’ preparation