Novel Strategies to Improve CAR-T Cells in Solid Tumors: Mini Review

Purpose: The paper reviews the obstacles that face CAR-T cells in solid tumors and the suggested novel strategies to overcome these obstacles in association with the efficacy as well as the safety profile of CAR-T cell therapy. Subjects and Methods:  This is a systematic review exploring the novel strategies to improve CAR-T cells in solid tumors. Results:  Several strategies have been developed, including: 1) targeting multiple  antigens; 2) improving trafficking of CAR-T cells into tumor tissues; 3) Preventing the immunosuppression of TME on CAR-T cells by different approaches such as  blocking the recruitment of MDSCs or TAM  in TME, saving CAR-T cells viability from exhaustion by blocking negative signals, and enhancement of CAR-T cells persistence activity by blocking PD-1/PDL-1 pathway in TME, 4) designing novel CAR-T cells to prevent the exhaustion; and 5) inducing a self T cells response in the tumor-bearing host to prevent tumor escape and enhance CAR-T cells activity. Conclusions: Recent researches about CAR-T cells therapy carries new hope for targeting solid tumors

Linear Algorithm for Conservative Degenerate Pattern Matching

A degenerate symbol x* over an alphabet A is a non-empty subset of A, and a sequence of such symbols is a degenerate string. A degenerate string is said to be conservative if its number of non-solid symbols is upper-bounded by a fixed positive constant k. We consider here the matching problem of conservative degenerate strings and present the first linear-time algorithm that can find, for given degenerate strings P* and T* of total length n containing k non-solid symbols in total, the occurrences of P* in T* in O(nk) time

A survey of medicinal plants of Wadi Al-Kouf in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya

Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar (the Green Mountain) of Cyrenaica, Libya is known to have the highest plant species diversity in the country, particularly in the depressions and the valleys of the mountain. Wadi Al-Kouf is the largest valley in the mountain, with a rich flora of aromatic and medicinal plants. The present investigation was conducted to record and list the medicinal plant species growing in the valley during the flowering season of 2019. Results revealed that Wadi Al-Kouf hosts 107 medicinal plant species belonging to 49 families and 93 genera. Dicotyledons were the most represented group of angiospermae with 38 families, 79 genera and 89 species, whereas Monocotyledons were represented by only 8 families, 10 genera and 13 species. Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae and Solanaceae were the families with the highest number of species; 11, 9, 6 and 6 species, respectively. The most dominant life forms found in the valley were Therophytes (25.2%), Phanerophytes (25.2%) and Chamaephytes (24.3%), followed by Hemicryptophytes (15.9%) and Geophytes (9.3%). Nine endemic species were detected and recorded

Linear-Time Superbubble Identification Algorithm for Genome Assembly

DNA sequencing is the process of determining the exact order of the nucleotide bases of an individual's genome in order to catalogue sequence variation and understand its biological implications. Whole-genome sequencing techniques produce masses of data in the form of short sequences known as reads. Assembling these reads into a whole genome constitutes a major algorithmic challenge. Most assembly algorithms utilize de Bruijn graphs constructed from reads for this purpose. A critical step of these algorithms is to detect typical motif structures in the graph caused by sequencing errors and genome repeats, and filter them out; one such complex subgraph class is a so-called superbubble. In this paper, we propose an O(n+m)-time algorithm to detect all superbubbles in a directed acyclic graph with n nodes and m (directed) edges, improving the best-known O(m log m)-time algorithm by Sung et al

Ambient Air Quality Assessment in the Grand Casablanca Area (Morocco): Impact of Road Traffic Emissions for the 2013-2016 Period

Air Pollution is a serious hazard worldwide especially in urban areas. Road traffic is the main cause of pollution in agglomerations that are confronted to an excess of pollutants due to traffic intensity and the dominance of diesel cars. This paper presents the assessment of road traffic pollution in the Grand Casablanca area. Data used are the result of simultaneous measurements at thirteen sites located in the Grand Casablanca. Available data cover 4 years period (2013-2016). Traffic-related air pollutants are reviewed in order to assess their impact on the local air quality. It include nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM10), carbon monoxide (CO) and Benzene (C6H6). Annual evolutions are presented and compared to national air quality standards; NO2 annual trends are also evaluated. The [NO]/[NO2] emissions ratio calculation allows then to characterize the measurement sites against road traffic. The paper focuses on determining the contribution of road traffic emissions on air quality modifying; we found spatial variability in traffic pollutants. The results pointed out that road traffic and conditions are the main causes of air pollution in the area and the analysis provide a quick view of the relatively critical areas that need more action to reduce this pollution

Hope Level and Life Satisfaction among Patients with Colostomy and their Family caregivers

Patients anticipating colostomy surgery have many concerns, needs, and fears. They may be physically debilitated and emotionally distraught with concerns about life changes after surgery, prognosis, as well as ability to perform in established roles and finances. This type of surgery which affects normal bowel function and necessitates bowel movements in a pouch that lies outside the body has a significant impact on hope level and life satisfaction among both temporary and permanent colostomy patients as well as their family caregivers. The aim of the current study was to assess hope level and life satisfaction among patients with colostomy and their family caregivers. A descriptive exploratory research design was utilized. A total of 76 colostomy patients and a same number of their family caregivers were recruited in the study from four general surgical wards at El Manial University Hospital affiliated to Cairo University. Three tools were utilized to collect data of this study namely: A structured Questionnaire sheet, Hope Scale (Synder, 1995), as well as Life satisfaction scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). The study findings revealed that temporary colostomy patients were complaining from low hope level and satisfaction with life than permanent colostomy patients. Regardless the type of colostomy and by time, hope level and satisfaction with life in family caregivers of both groups were decreased dramatically along the three assessments (at one week after colostomy surgery, ten days after discharge, and two months after discharge). No statistically significant differences were found in relation to life satisfaction among family caregivers of permanent colostomy patients in the second and third assessment. The same finding was observed between permanent colostomy patients and their family caregivers in the third assessment in relation to hope level. The study recommended that Hope Intervention program should be developed for colostomy patients especially temporary group. Further researches were also recommended focusing on needs assessment for family caregivers of temporary and permanent colostomy patients. Key words: Hope level, life satisfaction, patients with colostomy, family caregivers

Effect of Abdominal Massage on Gastrointestinal Complications and Intra-Abdominal Pressure of Critical-Enteral-Feed Patients: A Randomized Control Trial

Background: critically ill patient need a nursing practice that can enhance him to get all benefits of enteral feeding and overlapping the GI complications and maintain the intra-abdominal pressure.Objective: This work aimed to explore the effect of abdominal massage on gastrointestinal complications and intra-abdominal pressure of critical- enteral-feed patients.  Methods: A randomized controlled trial was applied on 74 eligibly enteral-fed patients at Trauma and General ICUs. Of these, the trail was completed on sixty patients who distributed randomly to equal intervention and control groups. The manipulation was two times for 15mins of abdominal massage for five days. The effect was measured on enteral feeding complications (GRV, abdominal circumference and distention, vomiting) and intra-abdominal pressure as compared with control group who didn't receive the massage.Results: the GRV difference between the massage group and control group subjects was statistically significant (P<0.001) in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th days indicating higher GRV among control group. The abdominal circumference between the five days was not significantly in the two groups. The difference between the two groups in relation to the distension was statistically significant (p < 0.05) in day 3, 4 and5. None of intervention patients were vomited along the study period (5days) in compared to 5% of control patients without statistical significant. Conclusions: The abdominal massage was significantly effective in lowering GRV, preventing distension and avoiding vomiting. Besides, the abdominal massage maintained the IAP without any statistical significant support. Therefore, it is recommended that this practice can be applied as a caring procedure in the daily ICU care program. Keywords: abdominal massage, gastrointestinal complications, intra-abdominal pressure, enteral-fed patients DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/64-05 Publication date:July 31st 201

The relationship between the gut microbiota shifts and the inflammatory biomarkers in obese and normal weight adults

Background:Healthy obesity means obese individuals remain free of metabolic health complications. Several researches link microbiota changes to obesity, focus on metabolic role of IL-6 and its ability to alter fat metabolism and correlate circulating calprotectin concentration to morbid obesity. This study evaluated the relative abundance of gut microbiota (Prevotella and γ-Proteobacteria), estimated the serum levels of inflammatory mediators (IL-6 and calprotectin) and studied the correlation between them in healthy obese and normal weight adults. Methods: 33 healthy obese (HO) and 14 normal weight (NW) controls were included. Serum levels of IL-6 and calprotectin were estimated by ELISA. Abundances of Prevotella and γ-Proteobacteria were determined in stool using real time PCR. Results: IL-6 and calprotectin levels were significantly lower in HO than in NW (p=0.001, p=0.001 respectively) with significant negative correlation between IL-6 and body mass index (BMI) in HO (r=-0.438, p=0.011) and negative but statistically insignificant correlation with BMI in NW groups (r=-0.024, p=0.935). There was negative but statistically insignificant correlation between calprotectin and BMI in HO (r=-0.075, p=0.677) and NW (r=-0.381, p=0.179). Prevotella and γ-Proteobacteria abundances were higher in HO than in NW and insignificant (p=0.31, p=0.55 respectively) with significant positive correlation between Prevotella and γ-Proteobacteria abundance in HO (r=0.436, p=0.011), positive and insignificant correlations between abundance of Prevotella and levels of IL-6 in HO and NW (r=0.303, P=0.086 vs r=0.316, p=0.272 respectively). Conclusion: IL-6 and calprotectin have role in regulation of energy homeostasis. Elevated abundances of Prevotella and γ-Proteobacteria may be the primary shifts in gut microbiota of  HO

Effect of Self-Care Guidelines on Quality of Life for Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Undergoing Radiofrequency Ablation

Context: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered one of the most challenging tumors with high incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates. Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) is one of the emerging therapeutic modalities used for the minimally invasive treatment in the management of early-stage HCC.Aim: This study aimed to assess the effect of self-care guidelines on the quality of life for patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma undergoing Radio Frequency Ablation. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to achieve the aim of this study. This study was conducted at the Interventional Radiology Unit, affiliated to Ain Shams University Hospital, on a purposive sample of 50 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma; 25 were randomly allocated to the study group, and 25 were allocated to the control group. A structured interview questionnaire for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation was used to collect the study data. It comprises three parts: Sociodemographic characteristics, assessment of patients' medical health, and knowledge about HCC and RFA. The second tool was the quality of life of cancer survivors questionnaire (pre /post-test), and finally, a patient-reported self-care practices assessment checklist (pre /posttests). Results: There were statistically significant differences between the study and control groups regarding their total knowledge about hepatocellular carcinoma and radiofrequency ablation therapy pre and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. There were highly statistically significant differences between both groups regarding the total quality of life, pre and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. In addition, there were highly statistically significant differences regarding total self-care practice, pre, and post-implementation of self-care guidelines. A positive correlation was revealed between total knowledge with total self-care practice and total quality of life (pre/posttest). Also, a significant correlation was revealed between the total quality of life and self-care practices post-self-care guidelines implementation at (p<0.001). Conclusion: Implementation of self-care guidelines improved patients' knowledge, quality of life, and self-care practices for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation. A simplified, illustrated, and comprehensive Arabic booklet including self-care guidelines should be available for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation. Replication of the current study on a larger probability sample is recommended to achieve generalization of the results. Further studies are recommended to assess factors affecting the quality of life for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma undergoing radiofrequency ablation