MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated as regulatory molecules that could play a considerable role in the pathogenesis of different diseases including asthma. This work aims at exploring the role of ...miR-146a and miR- 106b in the pathogenesis of asthma and their association with asthma severity, IgE, and inflammatory cytokines in asthmatic children. Thirty asthmatic children and twenty age-matched healthy children aged 4-17 years old were enrolled. Expression of plasma miR-146a and miR-106b was measured using quantitative real-time PCR. Plasma levels of interleukin-5 (IL-5) and interleukin-13 (IL-13) were assessed using ELISA. Lung functions were measured by Spirometry. MiR-146a and miR-106b were significantly over-expressed in asthmatic children compared to healthy children. A significant positive correlation between total IgE and both miR-146a and miR-106b was found while no significant correlation could be detected between these miRNAs and asthma severity in asthmatic children. Plasma levels of IL-5 and IL-13 were non-significantly higher in asthmatic children compared to healthy children, and there was no significant correlation between them and both miR-146a and miR-106b expressions in the asthmatic children. The aberrant expression of immune-related miRNAs (miR-146a and miR-106b) and inflammatory cytokines (IL-5 and IL-13) among asthmatic children suggest their probable role in asthma pathogenesis.
We measured serum interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), Fas receptor (sFas), nitric oxide (NO), and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity in 45 patients with ...congestive heart failure (CHF) of different etiologies. The relatioship between these bioindices and the severity of heart failure was analysed. Patients were classified according to the etiology of heart failure into: 15 patients with rheumatic valvular heart disease (RHD), 17 with ischemic heart disease (IHD) and 13 with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Patients were further classified according to severity of CHF following the New York Heart Association classification (NYHA) into: NYHA class II (n= 7), NYHA class III (n=20) and NYHA class IV (n=18). Eighteen healthy subjects were included as controls. Serum sIL-2R, TNF-alpha and sFas levels were determined by ELISA while serum NO and ACE levels were measured by colorimetric methods. Doppler Echocardiography was performed for all participants. Levels of sIL-2R, TNF-alpha, sFas, NO, and ACE were significantly higher in CHF patients than controls. Levels of the bioindices varied according to the CHF etiology. TNF-a level was the only one that had significant differences among different subgroups (RHD, IHD and DCM). The levels of sIL-2R, TNF-alpha, NO and sFas in patients with NYHA class IV were significantly higher than class II or III. Moreover, sIL-2R, TNF-alpha and NO levels were significantly higher in patients with diastolic dysfunction than patients with normal diastolic function. A significant positive correlations were found between sFas and both TNF-alpha and sIL-2R and between TNF-alpha and both NO and diastolic function. In addition, significant positive correlations were found between TNF-alpha and sIL-2R in both IHD and RHD patients and between sIL-2R and both ACE in IHD patients and diastolic function in DCM patients. It is concluded that a relationship exists between immune system activation, apoptosis and renin- angiotensin system in CHF and this may play a significant role in the pathophysiology and prognosis of the disease.
Polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) functions have been studied extensively in hemodialysis (HD) patients; however, results are contradictory and the mechanisms that modulate phagocytosis and oxidative ...burst are not completely understood. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a frequent complication of HD that may be associated with disturbed PMN function; however, the impact of HCV infection on neutrophil oxidative burst function in HD patients is unknown. We investigated Neutrophil oxidative burst function in 24 HD patients (15 HCV-positive and, 9 HCV-negative patients) before and after dialysis. HCV-RNA was detected by RT-nested PCR while, quantitative measurement of oxidative burst function was assessed by flowcytometry. Neutrophil Oxidised burst function was significantly diminished in HD patients as comapred to controls (P = 0.001, oxidised PMN (%); P = 0.02 mean flueresnce intensity, MFI), and in pre-dialysis as compared to post-dialysis samples (oxidised PMNs (%): 60.5 +/- 3.2 vs. 72.1 +/- 3.9, P = 0.02); (MFI: 352 +/- 42 vs. 500 +/- 50, P = 0.03). Alteration in Neutrophil oxidative burst function in the pre-dialysis samples was significant in HCV-positive patients as compared to HCV-negative patients (oxidized PMNs (%): 50 +/- 2.9 vs. 63 +/- 5.1, P = 0.02); (MFI: 291 +/- 31 vs. 438 +/- 64, P = 0.006). Marked reduction in E. coli induced burst in pre-dialysis samples compared to post-dialysis was found in HCV-positive when compared to HCV-negative patients (oxidized PMNs (%): 50 +/- 2.9 vs. 74.8 +/- 4.7, P = 0.001), (MFI: 291 +/- 31 vs. 493 +/- 63, P = 0.002). In conclusion, a possible role of concomitant HCV infection in alteration of Neutrophil oxidative burst function is highly suggested.
Summary Objective Assessment of the prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome among Egyptian school students suffering from obesity. Methods This study included 462 Egyptian school students who suffer from ...obesity where their body mass index was >95th percentile. Their age ranged between 7 and 18 years. Clinical, anthropometric and laboratory assessment were done to all cases. The diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome was done according to modified WHO criteria adapted for children (1999). Results Cases who were diagnosed as having Metabolic Syndrome represented 39.7% of the whole percentage of cases. The incidence rate among prepubertal students (45.5%) was higher than among pubertal ones (37%) ( p < 0.001). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher in girls than boys in the pubertal group, while boys have the higher prevalence in the prepubertal age. Hypertension was significantly higher in pubertal (22.3%) than in the prepubertal group (14.8%) ( p < 0.000). The prevalence of hyperinsulinaemia in the prepubertal group (13.6%) was significantly higher than in the pubertal group (3.3%) ( p < 0.001). However, the prevalence of impaired fasting glucose (25.0%) and insulin resistance HOMA-IR (22.8%) in the pubertal group was significantly higher than the prepubertal group (20.5% and 13.6% respectively) ( p < 0.01). Dyslipidaemia in the prepubertal group was 93.2% and in the pubertal group was 91.3% with a significant differences ( p < 0.000). Conclusions The prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in the studied sample was higher in prepubertal than pubertal students and in girls more than boys.
Buildings acquire layers of meaning over time. These meanings depend as much on their audience and interpreters, as on their creators. The layers of meaning range from those that explain the ...buildings to those that explain their interpretations. In this dissertation I start from this premise to read, understand and interpret three Mamluk building from the 7-8th/13-14th centuries in Cairo: the Mosque of Baybars, the Madrasa of al-Nasir Mohammad and the Madrasa of Sultan Hasan. Ultimately my goal was to unfold these multiple layers of meanings. In this study I used the theories of Hermeneutics. I have also integrated modes of interpretations from art history, linguistics, critical literary studies, and cultural anthropology. The study was based primarily on the significance of human agency, the acknowledgement of preunderstandings, on the grounding of explanation and interpretation, and finally on understanding the past neither through today's standards nor exclusively through the standards of the past. These three monuments are comments on more than themselves. They are historical documents through which we can understand their creators and their culture. Their interpretations mirror the time, values, and ideology of their interpreters. They exemplify the complexities of designing and constructing a building, the multitude of actors involved, and the multiple motives of each. They clarify the diversity of meanings by perceivers and interpreters, and the impossibility of finding a grand meaning as an ultimate explanation of a building. And finally, they speak about the power involved in creating a record of the past that influences both present and future, and in establishing a story told by one culture about another. The power of history is revealed in the ways our predecessors have understood and explained past architecture and how they have influenced our own understanding. Once we become aware that the role of architecture history is not innocent we no longer need to hide behind the pretense of neutrality. Instead, we should free ourselves from our indifference and become passionate about our interpretations and positions, and bring to life the meanings we understand in historical and cross-cultural studies.
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