Deficit irrigation water (DW) is one of the main stress factors that negatively affect cotton cultivation. Hence, the identification of cotton cultivars tolerant to DW and sandy soil conditions is ...particularly needed. Understanding the response of cultivars to DW is essential for estimating water needs. Besides, by understanding the physiological and antioxidant status, reflecting distinct growth, yield, and fiber quality traits under DW, the cultivar tolerant to DW can be identified in the early stage of plant growth. Therefore, two cotton cultivars (Giza 86 and Giza 92, selected for their suitability to the climatic conditions of the study area) were evaluated in this study under two DW regimes (80% or 60% of crop evapotranspiration; ETc) vs. complete irrigation water (CW; 100% of ETc as a control). These regimes amounted to 1228 or 922 vs. 1536 mm season−1, respectively, for field trials conducted during the 2019 and 2020 summer seasons. DW (80% or 60% of ETc) significantly decreased relative water content, membrane stability index, chlorophyll content, plant height, yield components, and fiber quality traits. Otherwise, phenolic compounds, proline contents, as well as antioxidant enzyme activities increased in concomitance with an increase in electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content. The harmful effects of the higher DW (60% of ETc) were more pronounced in both cultivars. However, compared to Giza 86, Giza 92 showed higher performance under both CW and DW regimes, accounting for higher values for all studied traits in the blooming stage. The correlation coefficient showed that most of the physiological traits and antioxidants under study were effective criteria in identifying a high-yielding cultivar under DW in the cotton blooming stage and therefore can be used to select the cotton cultivar more suitable for the conditions of the study area. Biplot analysis was used to study the relationship between DW and all evaluated traits, as it was found that the most prominent traits were elongation (%) with Giza 92 + 100% ETc, yellowness degree with Giza 86 + 100% ETc, and SOD with Giza 92 + 60% ETc.
Pharmaceutical compounds are considered emerging environmental pollutants that have a potential harmful impact on environment and human health. In this study, the biomass of alga (Scenedesmus ...obliquus) was modified using alkaline solution, and used for the biosorption of tramadol (TRAM) and other pharmaceuticals. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were investigated. The obtained results reveal high adsorption capacity of tramadol over modified algal biomass (MAB) after 45min with removal percentage of 91%. Pseudo-second order model was well fitted with the experimental data with correlation coefficient (0.999). Biosorption of tramadol on modified algal biomass proceeds with Freundlich isotherm model with correlation coefficient (0.942) that emphasized uptake of TRAM by MAB is driven by chemisorption. FTIR spectra of MAB before and after the adsorption were analyzed; some IR bands were detected with slight shift and low intensity suggesting their involving in adsorption. The tramadol biosorption by MAB is a chemical process as confirmed by Dubinin-Radushkevich. The adsorption of pharmaceutical over MAB is mainly preceded by hydrophilic interactions between amino and carbonyl groups in pharmaceutical molecules and hydroxyl and carbonyl functional groups on surface of biosorbent. It was emphasized by disappearance O-H and C-O from biomass IR spectra after adsorption. In matrix of pharmaceutical, the recorded adsorption capacities for CEFA, PARA, IBU, TRAM and CIP are 68, 58, 42, 42 and 39mg/g over MAB at natural pH and MAB dose of 0.5g/L. Furthermore, oxygen uptake by bacteria was applied for estimate the toxicity of pharmaceutical. The recorded result concluded the efficient reusability of modified algal biomass for biosorption of pharmaceuticals, as well only the adsorption efficiency decreased by 4.5% after three runs. Subsequently, the modified algal biomass is a promising reusable adsorbent for decontamination of wastewater from pharmaceuticals.
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•Algal biomass was modified used for removal of pharmaceutical.•Adsorption of tramadol by biosorbents was well fitted by Freundlich isotherm.•Biosorption of tramadol by algal biomass is a hydrophilic chemical interaction.•MAB is a reusable adsorbent for the detoxification of pharmaceuticals from water.•Ecotoxicological assay was used for confirming the decontamination of water.
Although misdiagnosis of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) with neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) or multiple sclerosis (MS) is not infrequent, reliable biomarkers ...remains an unmet need. Extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) represent a worthy avenue to identify biomarkers for differential diagnosis. We aimed to explore the potential role of some selected circulating miRNAs as biomarkers for the differential diagnosis in immune-mediated neuroinflammatory diseases.
A total of 80 subjects were enrolled in the present study, including 37 patients with MS (relapsing-remitting MS RRMS; n=18 and secondary progressive MS SPMS; n=19), 10 patients with NMOSD and 10 patients with NPSLE as well as 23 healthy subjects. Serum expression levels of three selected miRNAs (miR-145, miR-223 and miR-326) were measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Whole blood expression levels of cellular immune response-relevant target genes, including signaling mother against decapentaplegic peptide 3 (SMAD3) and specificity protein 1 (SP1), were also measured using qRT-PCR.
In comparison to healthy subjects, only miR-145 and miR-223 were significantly up-regulated in MS patients, whereas, all the analyzed miRNAs revealed insignificant upregulation in NMOSD patients. All the examined miRNAs were significantly down-regulated in NPSLE patients compared to healthy subjects. miR-145, miR-223 and miR-326 expression profile is a promising diagnostic biomarker for MS and NPSLE, but not for NMOSD. This expression profile is capable of differentiating not only among MS, NMOSD and NPSLE, but also between RRMS and SPMS.
Specific circulating miRNAs expression signature may have the potential to differentially diagnose immune-mediated neuroinflammatory diseases.
miR-145, miR-223 and miR-326expression profile allows for differential diagnosis of immune-mediated neuroinflammatory diseases: MS from NMOSD (A), MS from NPSLE (B), NMOSD from NPSLE (C) and RRMS from SPMS (D). Display omitted
•A specific miRNAs expression profile allows for differential diagnosis of immune-mediated neuroinflammatory diseases.•Increased expression of miR-326 appeared to be mostly associated with the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis.•Altered expression of miR-145, miR-223 and miR-326 affected the expression of two immune response-related target genes.
IL-17A G197A and IL-17F A7488G polymorphisms has been identified to be associated with the susceptibility to many diseases. This study aimed to investigate the frequency distribution of IL-17A G197A ...and IL-17F A7488G polymorphisms among healthy Sudanese population. A descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based molecular study conducted in different sites throughout Sudan. Two ml blood samples were collected from 717 healthy participants. Demographic data and the medical history of the participants were collected.
Of the 717 participants, 355 (49.5%) were males and 362 (50.5%) were females, their mean age was 30.2 ± 17.2 and 32.2 ± 16.5, respectively. For IL-17A, the most frequent genotype detected among males and females was IL-17A heterozygote allele (AG); 215 (60.6%) and 194 (53.6%), respectively. Whereas, for IL-17F, the most frequent allele among males and females was the homozygote allele (AA); 298 (83.9%) for males and 322 (89.0%) for females. HWE for genotype distributions of IL-17A was showing statistical insignificance for IL-17A among males and females, P value 0.614. While HWE for IL-17F reached the equilibrium level, P value 0.048. The most frequent age group was those aged between 21 to 40 years; 281 (39.2%). Arab constituted the major ethnicity of the study participants; 418 (58.3%), P value 0.034.
•COVID-19 is affecting different countries all over the world with great variation in infection rate and death ratio.•Some reports suggested a relation between the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) ...vaccine and the malaria treatment to the infection prevention.•Some reports related infant's lower-susceptibility to the BCG vaccine. Some other reports a higher risk in males compared to females in such a COVI-19 pandemic.•Some other reports claimed the possible use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as prophylactic in such a pandemic.•The-present commentary is to discuss the possible relation between those-factors and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
COVID-19 is affecting different countries all over the world with great variation in infection rate and death ratio. Some reports suggested a relation between the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine and the malaria treatment to the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Some reports related infant's lower susceptibility to the COVID-19. Some other reports a higher risk in males compared to females in such COVID-19 pandemic. Also, some other reports claimed the possible use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as prophylactic in such a pandemic. The present commentary is to discuss the possible relation between those factors and SARS-CoV-2 infection.
This research paper aims to fabricate flexible PVA/Cs/TiO
nanocomposite films consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), chitosan (Cs), and titanium oxide (TiO
) for application in energy storage ...devices. The samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscope (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques. The impact of TiO
on the electrical impedance, conductivity, permittivity, and energy efficiency of the PVA/Cs was determined in a frequency range of 100 Hz to 5 GHz. The XRD, FTIR, and EDX results showed the successful fabrications of the PVA/Cs/TiO
. The SEM and AFM images illustrated that the TiO
was loaded and distributed homogenously in PVA/Cs chains. In addition, the electrical conductivity was enhanced from 0.04 × 10
S.cm
of PVA/Cs to 0.25 × 10
S.cm
and 5.75 × 10
S.cm
, respectively, for the composite PVA/Cs/0.01TiO
and PVA/Cs/0.1TiO
, and the dielectric constant grew from 2.46 for PVA/Cs to 7.38 and 11.93, respectively. These results revealed that modifications were made to the produced films, paving the way for using the composite PVA/Cs/TiO
films in different energy applications, such as electronic circuits and supercapacitors.
Objective
To assess the diagnostic accuracy and agreement of CT and MRI in terms of the Bosniak classification version 2019 (BCv2019).
Materials and methods
A prospective multi-institutional study ...enrolled 63 patients with 67 complicated cystic renal masses (CRMs) discovered during ultrasound examination. All patients underwent CT and MRI scans and histopathology. Three radiologists independently assessed CRMs using BCv2019 and assigned Bosniak class to each CRM using CT and MRI. The final analysis included 60 histopathologically confirmed CRMs (41 were malignant and 19 were benign).
Results
Discordance between CT and MRI findings was noticed in 50% (30/60) CRMs when data were analyzed in terms of the Bosniak classes. Of these, 16 (53.3%) were malignant. Based on consensus reviewing, there was no difference in the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the BCv2019 with MRI and BCv2019 with CT (87.8%; 95% CI = 73.8–95.9% versus 75.6%; 95% CI = 59.7–87.6%;
p
= 0.09, 84.2%; 95% CI = 60.4–96.6% versus 78.9%; 95% CI = 54.4–93.9%;
p
= 0.5, and 86.7%; 95% CI = 64.0–86.6% versus 76.7%; 95% CI = 75.4–94.1%;
p
= 0.1, respectively). The number and thickness of septa and the presence of enhanced nodules accounted for the majority of variations in Bosniak classes between CT and MRI. The inter-reader agreement (IRA) was substantial for determining the Bosniak class in CT and MRI (
k
= 0.66; 95% CI = 0.54–0.76,
k
= 0.62; 95% CI = 0.50–0.73, respectively). The inter-modality agreement of the BCv219 between CT and MRI was moderate (
κ
= 0.58).
Conclusion
In terms of BCv2019, CT and MRI are comparable in the classification of CRMs with no significant difference in diagnostic accuracy and reliability.
Key Points
•
There is no significant difference in the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the BCv2019 with MRI and BCv2019 with CT.
•
The number of septa and their thickness and the presence of enhanced nodules accounted for the majority of variations in Bosniak classes between CT and MRI.
•
The inter-reader agreement was substantial for determining the Bosniak class in CT and MRI and the inter-modality agreement of the BCv219 between CT and MRI was moderate.
Abstract
Utilizing Glutaraldehyde crosslinked sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-GA) hydrogel and its nanographene oxide composite (CMC-GA-GOx), an effective carboxymethyl cellulose-graphene oxide ...biobased composites adsorbent was developed for the adsorption removal of methylene blue (MB) cationic dye contaminate from industrial wastewater. The CMC-GA-GOx composites developed were characterized using FTIR, RAMAN, TGA, SEM, and EDX analysis instruments. Through batch experiments, several variables affecting the removal of MB dye, including the biocomposites GO:CMC composition, adsorption time, pH and temperature, initial MB concentration, adsorbent dosage, and NaCl concentration, were investigated under different conditions. The maximum dye removal percentages ranged between 93 and 98%. They were obtained using biocomposites CMC-GA-GO
102
with 20% GO weight percent, adsorption time 25 min, adsorption temperature 25 °C, MB concentrations 10–30 ppm, adsorption pH 7.0, and 0.2 g adsorbent dose. The experimental data of the adsorption process suit the Langmuir isotherm more closely with a maximal monolayer adsorption capacity of 76.92 mg/g. The adsorption process followed the kinetic model of pseudo-second order. The removal of MB was exothermic and spontaneous from a thermodynamic standpoint. In addition, thermodynamic results demonstrated that adsorption operates most effectively at low temperatures. Finally, the reusability of the developed CMC-GA-GO
102
has been proved through 10 successive cycles where only 14% of the MB dye removal percentage was lost. These results suggest that the developed CMC-GA-GO
102
composite may be an inexpensive and reusable adsorbent for removing organic cationic dyes from industrial wastewater.
Preliminary evaluation of efficacy and safety of uzara use in treatment of moderate and severe primary dysmenorrhea in comparison to ibuprofen.
This randomized, comparative two way cross-over study ...comprised 60 single female students at Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Egypt, aged 19-28 years with moderate (n = 46) or severe (n = 14) primary dysmenorrhea. Participants were randomized to take either uzara (80 mg/8 hours for two doses, then 40 mg/8 hours) then ibuprofen (400 mg/6 hours) in two subsequent cycles or vice versa. The pain intensity, using VAS, was recorded immediately before taking the medication (0 hour) and after 4, 12, 24, 48-60, 96-120 hours. Main outcome measures included effectiveness of pain relief defined as drop of VAS to 3 or less, patient's global evaluation of the drug, absence from school, the use of a rescue medication, and, in those who continued the treatment, the pain intensity difference (PID) at different points after start of medication and its sum (SPID).
Uzara was comparably effective to ibuprofen (78.3% vs. 86.7% of cycles; respectively), with comparable rates of effectiveness on global evaluation (being around 50% for either drug), and rates of school absences (11.7% vs. 13.3%; respectively). The need for rescue medication was different (18.3% and 10%; respectively), albeit with no statistical significance. The means of PID at different time points and SPID were comparable, with significantly lower average mean of VAS scores compared to that felt with no medication (1.6 vs. 6.8, p<0.001). Side effects were less with uzara than ibuprofen (0% vs. 8.3%, p<0.05).
Uzara might be as effective as ibuprofen in management of primary dysmenorrhea but with less side effects. These findings need to be confirmed by a properly designed trial with a larger sample size.
Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN25618258.
Abstract Background Although a clear mechanism underlying the pathophysiology of schizophrenia (SZ) remains elusive, oxidative stress, inflammatory syndrome and immune activation have become an ...attractive hypothesis for explaining the pathophysiology of SZ. Data from prior studies on the role of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SZ are contradictory. We aimed to investigate whether oxidative stress, inflammatory and immune activation markers as well as MMP-9 levels may be implicated in SZ pathogenesis. The association of MMP-9 and BDNF SNPs with the clinical expression of SZ was examined. Subjects and methods Ninety-four subjects were recruited, including 44 SZ patients and 50 healthy controls. Serum levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), protein carbonyl content (PCC), nitrite, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), Beta-2 microglobulin (Β2M), complement component 3 (C3), C4 and MMP-9 were measured. The MMP-9 − 1562C > T and BDNF196G > A SNPs were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Psychopathology was assessed using the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS). Results SZ patients showed significantly higher TBARS, PCC, nitrite, CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, Β2M, C3 and MMP-9 levels than controls. In distinguishing SZ patients from healthy controls, CRP and MMP-9 yielded similar discriminatory performance, and both perform better than IL-6, Β2M, C3, nitrite, TBARS, PCC, TNF-α and C4. The MMP-9 − 1562C > T SNP genotypes distribution didn't differ significantly between controls and SZ patients. As compared to controls, SZ patients harbor a significantly higher frequency of the BDNF196GG genotype and a lower frequency of the BDNF196GA/AA genotype. Patients carrying the MMP-9 − 1562CC or BDNF196GG genotype revealed a significantly higher PANSS than those carrying MMP-9 − 1562CT/TT or BDNF196GA/AA genotype. Male gender and the MMP-9 − 1562CC genotype were identified as independent predictive factors for higher PANSS. Conclusions Redox dysregulation and alterations in the immuno-inflammatory pathways are major culprits in the pathogenesis of SZ. MMP-9 and BDNF SNPs are associated with the clinical phenotype of SZ and, thus, may be a useful marker predicting the phenotypic expression and prognosis of SZ patients.
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