Effect of Nutritional Formula on Fatigue Among Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer at a University Hospital-Egypt.

Background: Lung cancer is the most common cancer and cause of death worldwide. Almost 50 percent of lung cancer cases are found in the developing countries. The estimated numbers of new lung cancer cases in the Arab world show a gradual increase every year. Cancer lung and its treatment modalities increase incidence of fatigue. Many studied documented that patients with cancer related fatigue described it as more distressing than other cancer-related symptoms such as pain, depression, and nausea. Correction of anemia, exercises, dietary supplements rich in vitamins specially beta-carotene, yoga, complementary and alternative medicine have been suggested as strategies/ guidelines of managing fatigue. Natural nutritional supplementations were recommended by oncologists, nurse specialists, as well authors in the field of applied nutrition and they recommend juicing fruits and vegetables. One of the recommended formulas for fighting fatigue consisted of carrot, beetroot, mixed with celery juice (energy juice). Carrot juice is known as a miracle juice as it removes bacterial infection, beetroot act as anti cancer factor as well as powerful blood detoxifying agent and celery juice is a source of folic acid, vitamin B1&6. Aim of the Study: Was to identify the effect of the nutritional formula on fatigue among lung cancer patients at a University Hospital-Egypt. Design: Time series longitudinal comparative study. Research questions: 1-a-What is the effect of the nutritional formula on fatigue among patients with advanced lung cancer before and after receiving chemotherapy? 1-b- Is there a difference between fatigue scores on the start of using the formula and at the end of rehydration period among patients with advanced cancer lung receiving chemotherapy? 2-a-Is there a relation between fatigue score prior and after taking the nutritional formula and the selected medical outcome (duration of illness, hemoglobin, WBCs)? 2-b-Is there a relation between fatigue score prior and after taking the nutritional formula and patients' age, metastasis occurrence and chemotherapy medication? Sample: A convenient sample of thirty patients with advanced lung cancer receiving chemotherapy was collected over a year. Two tools were used to collect data; Demographic & Medical data assessment sheet and the Revised Piper Fatigue Scale (PFS-R13).  Data were collected before receiving chemotherapy (on admission), one day after receiving chemotherapy (beginning of using the nutritional formula), after rehydration period (one week later), two weeks later & before discharge). Results: Fatigue scores increased after receiving chemotherapy and began to decrease gradually after rehydration period, so there was a significant statistical difference between fatigue scores measured before and after the use of the nutritional formula. And there is a statistical significant difference over the four readings of fatigue scores reading and the selected medical responses (duration of illness Hgb 1st reading & 2nd reading, WBCs 1st reading), age. Conclusion: The suggested nutritional formula helped in decreasing fatigue among lung cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. Key words: Fatigue, cancer lung, chemotherapy, nutritional values (Carrots, celery, parsley)

On Z- generalized closed sets in topology

In this paper, we introduce and study the notion of generalized Z-closed sets. Also, the notion of generalized Z-open sets and some of its basic properties are introduced discussed. Further, we introduce the notion of generalized Z-closed functions. Moreover, some characterizations and properties  of it are investigated. Keywords: gZ-closed sets, Z-T1/2-spaces,  gZ-continuous and ZgZ-continuous functions

TRA-954: SOLUTION MODEL FOR URBAN TRAFFIC CONGESTION: EGYPTIAN CASE STUDY

Traffic congestion is a major problem in many cities around the world resulting in massive delays, increased fuel wastage, environmental impact and other negative consequences affecting the daily life of each individual. From a transportation engineering point of view, making the correct decision to eliminate such congestion problems can be very difficult for decision-makers who carry the burden of analyzing large quantities of data which could be vague and conflicting in nature. Therefore, an effective and consistent system is required to simplify the decision-making process of the traffic congestion control. Traffic simulation could be that tool. The seriousness of traffic congestion in Egypt is the main motive for the study presented herein. The study aims at developing a model that sets guidelines on how to approach an urban congested traffic area, be able to tackle the problem and choose the effective engineering solution in terms of either geometry and/or structure. Sectors of El Nasr Road, Cairo with a total length of 2.4 km is chosen as a typical example of an urban area with traffic congestion hotspots. It serves as an excellent location to implement the traffic solution model on. The model is developed and implemented as follows: collection of traffic data, diagnosis of the congestion problems in terms of social, commercial, cultural, and behavioral aspects. The analysis of the data finger points out the flag areas by conducting total and peak traffic volume counts, simulation of the existing traffic conditions to get the delayed travel times of vehicles in that area. The analysis of the output would finally help decide whether such problem would be solved by geometric adjustments of the surface or the problem requires a multi-layered intersection

Preliminary results on salicylic acid treatment on brown rot caused by Monilinia laxa on Jumbo Cot fruit, Prunus armeniaca L.

The effect of salicylic acid on reducing brown rot caused by Monilinia laxa infection in postharvest apricot fruit Prunus armeniacaL. Freshly harvest Jumpo Cot fruit were treated with water as control treatment and other group treated with salicylic acid 2 Mm as inducedresistance treatment, Fruits were infected by M. laxa (1 × 10-3spores ml-1) and incubated at 25 oC for 2, 4 and 6 days. Treatment fruitswith salicylic acid resulted in direct effect on mycelial growth as in the salicylic acid treatment the growth reached to 45% after 6 days ofincubation while in the control treatment it reached to 100%

Preliminary results on salicylic acid treatment on brown rot caused by Monilinia laxa on Jumbo Cot fruit, Prunus armeniaca L.

The effect of salicylic acid on reducing brown rot caused by Monilinia laxa infection in postharvest apricot fruit Prunus armeniaca L. Freshly harvest Jumpo Cot fruit were treated with water as control treatment and other group treated with salicylic acid 2 Mm as induced resistance treatment, Fruits were infected by M. laxa (1 × 10-3spores ml-1) and incubated at 25 oC for 2, 4 and 6 days. Treatment fruits with salicylic acid resulted in direct effect on mycelial growth as in the salicylic acid treatment the growth reached to 45% after 6 days of incubation while in the control treatment it reached to 100%

Molecular marker dissection of stem rust resistance in Nebraska bread wheat germplasm

Stem rust (caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici) is a major disease of wheat. To understand the genetic basis of stem rust resistance in Nebraska winter wheat, a set of 330 genotypes representing two nurseries (DUP2015 and TRP2015) were evaluated for resistance to a Nebraska stem rust race (QFCSC) in two replications. The TRP2015 nursery was also evaluated for its resistance to an additional 13 stem rust races. The analysis of variance revealed significant variation among genotypes in both populations for stem rust resistance. Nine stem rust genes, Sr6, Sr31, Sr1RSAmigo, Sr24, Sr36, SrTmp, Sr7b, Sr9b, and Sr38, were expected and genotyped using gene-specific markers. The results of genetic analysis confirmed the presence of seven stem rust resistance genes. One genotype (NE15680) contained target alleles for five stem rust resistance genes and had a high level of stem rust resistance against different races. Single marker analysis indicated that Sr24 and Sr38 were highly significantly associated with stem rust resistance in the DUP2015 and TRP2015 nurseries, respectively. Linkage disequilibrium analysis identified the presence of 17 SNPs in high linkage with the Sr38-specific marker. These SNPs potentially tagging the Sr38 gene could be used in marker-assisted selection after validating them in additional genetic backgrounds

Manufactured Nano-Objects Confer Viral Protection against Cucurbit Chlorotic Yellows Virus (CCYV) Infecting Nicotiana benthamiana

Nanotechnology has emerged as a new tool to combat phytopathogens in agricultural crops. Cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV) mainly infects Solanaceae crops and causes significant crop losses. Nanomaterials (NMs) may have efficacy against plant viruses, but the mechanisms underlying complex nanomaterials-plant-virus interactions remain elusive. We challenged Nicotiana benthamiana plants with GFP-tagged CCYV and observed morphological, physiological, and molecular changes in response to 21-d foliar exposure to nanoscale Fe and Zn and C60 fullerenes at 100 mg/L concentration for 21 days. We observed that in response to C60 (100 mg/L) treatment, plants displayed a normal phenotype while the viral infection was not seen until 5 days post-inoculation. On the contrary, Fe and Zn were unable to suppress viral progression. The mRNA transcriptional analysis for GFP and viral coat protein revealed that the transcripts of both genes were 5-fold reduced in response to C60 treatment. Evaluation of the chloroplast ultrastructure showed that NMs treatment maintained the normal chloroplast structure in the plants as compared to untreated plants. C60 upregulated the defense-related phytohormones (abscisic acid and salicylic acid) by 42–43%. Our results demonstrate the protective function of carbon-based NMs, with suppression of CCYV symptoms via inhibition of viral replication and systemic movement

Effect of aerobic exercise, slow deep breathing and mindfulness meditation on cortisol and glucose levels in women with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Aerobic exercise combined with breathing exercise can be an integral part of diabetes mellitus treatment. This single-center, randomized, parallel-group study investigated the effect of the combination of aerobic exercise with slow deep breathing and mindfulness meditation on the glucose and cortisol levels of women with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Materials and Methods: Fifty-eight middle-aged women with T2DM (mean age: 45.67 ± 2.92 years) were randomly assigned to either the aerobic training group (AT: n = 29; mean age [46.1 ± 2.7 years]) or the aerobic exercise combined with slow deep breathing and mindfulness meditation (AT + DMM: n = 29; mean age [45.24 ± 3.14 years]). Aerobic exercise was performed at 60%-75% of the maximum heart rate. The women in each group were asked to perform the training three times weekly over a 6-week period. The duration of each session was 40 min for the AT group and 60 min for the AT + DMM group. The two groups were asked to perform aerobic exercise at 60%-75% of the maximum heart rate. Their fasting blood glucose (FBG) and serum cortisol levels were measured at the baseline and after the 6 weeks. Results: Compared with the AT group, the group undertaking 6 weeks of aerobic training combined with slow, deep breathing exercises and mindfulness meditation showed significantly lower levels of FBG (p = 0.001) and cortisol levels (p = 0.01) than the AT group. Conclusion: The addition of slow deep breathing and mindfulness meditation to aerobic exercise can better control the glucose and cortisol levels of women with T2DM and thereby improve their outcomes and decrease their cardiometabolic risk

Genome-Wide Association Study for Identification and Validation of Novel SNP Markers for \u3ci\u3eSr6\u3c/i\u3e Stem Rust Resistance Gene in Bread Wheat

Stem rust (caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici Erikss. & E. Henn.), is a major disease in wheat (Triticum aestivium L.). However, in recent years it occurs rarely in Nebraska due to weather and the effective selection and gene pyramiding of resistance genes. To understand the genetic basis of stem rust resistance in Nebraska winter wheat, we applied genome-wide association study (GWAS) on a set of 270 winter wheat genotypes (A-set). Genotyping was carried out using genotyping-by-sequencing and ~35,000 high-quality SNPs were identified. The tested genotypes were evaluated for their resistance to the common stem rust race in Nebraska (QFCSC) in two replications. Marker-trait association identified 32 SNP markers, which were significantly (Bonferroni corrected P \u3c 0.05) associated with the resistance on chromosome 2D. The chromosomal location of the significant SNPs (chromosome 2D) matched the location of Sr6 gene which was expected in these genotypes based on pedigree information. A highly significant linkage disequilibrium (LD, r2) was found between the significant SNPs and the specific SSR marker for the Sr6 gene (Xcfd43). This suggests the significant SNP markers are tagging Sr6 gene. Out of the 32 significant SNPs, eight SNPs were in six genes that are annotated as being linked to disease resistance in the IWGSC RefSeq v1.0. The 32 significant SNP markers were located in nine haplotype blocks. All the 32 significant SNPs were validated in a set of 60 different genotypes (V-set) using single marker analysis. SNP markers identified in this study can be used in marker-assisted selection, genomic selection, and to develop KASP (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR) marker for the Sr6 gene