Lutein exerts its cardioprotective effect against the experimental model of isoprenaline-induced myocardial infarction via MIAT/miR-200a/Nrf2/TXINP pathway.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Lutein (LU) possesses numerous pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antiapoptotic effects. This study aimed to investigate the cardioprotective potential of LU in isoprenaline (ISO)-induced MI and to explore its molecular mechanisms of action.

Non-redundant functions of H2A.Z.1 and H2A.Z.2 in chromosome segregation and cell cycle progression.

H2A.Z is a H2A-type histone variant essential for many aspects of cell biology, ranging from gene expression to genome stability. From deuterostomes, H2A.

Role of Endoscopic Ultrasound Elastography Strain Histograms in the Evaluation of Patients with Pancreatic Masses.

Background: The Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) quantitative elastography strain ratio (SR) and strain histogram (SH) methods for noninvasive pancreatic masses differentiation have been recently developed. The aim of this research was to investigate the accuracy of the diagnostic differentiation methods for patients with pancreatic masses, based on the EUS SR and SH.

Methods: This is a prospective study involving 100 cases with pancreatic masses.

Does shared decision making increase prostate screening uptake in countries with a low prevalence of prostate cancer?

Background: Men over 50 should discuss the benefits and harms of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing with their doctors.

Objectives: To investigate whether shared decision making (SDM) increases the uptake of prostate cancer screening practices among Saudi men.

Methods: This community-based study recruited men aged ≥ 50 years between January and April 2019.

Case item creation and video case presentation as summative assessment tools for distance learning in the pandemic era.

Background: There is an urgent need for more diverse methods for student evaluation, given the sudden shift to online learning necessitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Innovative assessment tools will need to cover the required competencies and should be used to drive self-learning. Self-assessments and peer assessments may be added to the traditional classroom-based evaluations to identify individual insecurities or overconfidence.

A guide to diagnosing and managing ascites in cirrhosis.

Combined serum and ascites fluid measurements point to the cause of ascites. For patients with modest edema, a reduced weight-loss target with diuresis may be acceptable.

Acetylsalicylic Acid Compared with Enoxaparin for the Prevention of Thrombosis and Mechanical Ventilation in COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background And Objective: Low-dose acetylsalicylic acid (ASA, aspirin) is a well-known and frequently studied drug for primary and secondary prevention of disease due to its anti-inflammatory and coagulopathic effects. COVID-19 complications are attributed to the role of thrombo-inflammation. Studies regarding the use of low-dose ASA in COVID-19 are limited.

Does support to Private Health Practitioners increase childhood vaccination coverage? Findings from a comparative study in Afghanistan.

Introduction: In Afghanistan coverage of childhood vaccinations is very low, especially in remote and insecure areas with a weak public health structure. Private health providers (PHPs) in these areas play an important role in health care provision, some of whom have received (para)medical training. In 2009 HealthNet TPO initiated a Public-Private Partnership program in Uruzgan province, training and equipping 34 PHPs in remote and conflict-affected locations to provide quality childhood vaccination services.

Expedited and Comprehensive Management of Low-Risk TIA Patients in the Emergency Department is Safe and Less Costly.

Objectives: Transient ischemic attack (TIA) can be a warning sign of an impending stroke. The objective of our study is to assess the feasibility, safety, and cost savings of a comprehensive TIA protocol in the emergency room for low-risk TIA patients.

Materials And Methods: This is a retrospective, single-center cohort study performed at an academic comprehensive stroke center.

Fungal decomposition of chicken-feather waste in submerged and solid-state fermentation.

Poultry industry is expanding rapidly and producing million tons of feather waste annually. Massive production of keratinaceous byproducts in the form of industrial wastes throughout the world necessitates its justified utilization. Chemical treatment of keratin waste is proclaimed as an eco-destructive approach by various researchers since it generates secondary pollutants.

No evidence that vitamin D is able to prevent or affect the severity of COVID-19 in individuals with European ancestry: a Mendelian randomisation study of open data.

Background: Upper respiratory tract infections are reportedly more frequent and more severe in individuals with lower vitamin D levels. Based on these findings, it has been suggested that vitamin D can prevent or reduce the severity of COVID-19.

Methods: We used two-sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) to assess the causal effect of vitamin D levels on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk and COVID-19 severity using publicly available data.

Outcomes of Unprotected Left Main Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Single-Centre Experience.

Introduction: When the baseline anatomical syntax score-I (SxSI) is more than or equal to 33, percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of unprotected left main (UPLM) is discouraged and considered as high-risk of adverse cardiac events. We designed this study to compare the outcomes of UPLM-PCI between the low to intermediate-syntax score (SxSI/.) group (defined as SxSI <33) and the high-syntax score (SxSI) group (defined as SxSI more than or equal 33) with a subanalysis to explore the predictive role of intravascular images (IVI).

Effects of the Use of Tourniquet in Total Knee Arthroplasty on the Clinical and Functional Outcomes with 5 Years of Follow-up: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The use of tourniquet in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) had a lot of controversies with no clear agreement about the advantages and disadvantages of tourniquet. This study aims to show the effects of tourniquet use in TKA on the functional and clinical outcomes with follow-up of 5 years. This is a randomized, double-blind, and single-center study of 101 patients who were treated by TKA and divided randomly into two groups.

Precision therapy with anaplastic lymphoma kinase inhibitor ceritinib in ALK-rearranged anaplastic large cell lymphoma.

Background: More than 80% of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) patients harbor the (nucleophosmin) NPM1-ALK fusion gene t(2;5) chromosomal translocation. We evaluated the preclinical and clinical efficacy of ceritinib treatment of this aggressive lymphoma.

Materials And Methods: We studied the effects of ceritinib treatment in NPM1-ALK+ T-cell lymphoma cell lines in vitro and on tumor size and survival advantage in vivo utilizing tumor xenografts.

Neuroprotective effect of green and roasted coffee bean extracts on cerebral ischemia-induced injury in rats.

Stroke is a lethal event with a high incidence in Egypt. Quick early intervention can be lifesaving. Transient global ischemia (TGI), a type of ischemic stroke, is mainly instigated by cardiac arrest.

Characteristics of BCR-ABL gene variants in patients of chronic myeloid leukemia.

Background: Depending on breakpoints of rearrangement different types of BCR-ABL fusion protein can be generated in patients of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The aim of this study is to observe frequencies of major transcripts in CML patients by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and their hematological features at the time of presentation.

Materials And Methods: This cross sectional study was performed at Molecular Lab of Riphah International University, Islamabad from January to June 2019.

Internalized Stigma in Persons With Mental Illness in Qatar: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Stigma impacts persons with mental illness (PWMI), their families and network of friends, the public and health care professionals. Stigma is a major barrier for PWMI to seeking treatment, which contributes to the burden of disease, disability, and mortality. Research on stigma is relatively scant in the Middle East region and particularly in Qatar.

Phenotypic characterization of exotic tomato germplasm: An excellent breeding resource.

Tomato production in Pakistan faces significant problems of low yields due to various biotic and abiotic stresses primarily because of a narrow genetic base of the cultivars being used. Therefore, Introduction and evaluation of the exotic tomato germplasm has become necessary to acquire elite material to develop future breeding programs. To this end, the present study was conducted for the phenotypic characterization of twenty exotic tomato genotypes along with two locally grown cultivars in semi-arid subtropical climate.

Profiling Inflammatory Cytokines in a Cohort Study of Egyptian Patients with COVID-19 Infection.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an international public health emergency with major disruptions and devastating health consequences resulting from the associated cytokine storm syndrome. The aim of our research was to assess the inflammatory biomarkers and risk factors associated with severity of (COVID-19) patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted and included 150 Egyptian patients with COVID-19.

Sustainable and rapid preparation of nanosized Fe/Ni-pentlandite particles by mechanochemistry.

In recent years, metal-rich sulfides of the pentlandite type (MS) have attracted considerable attention for energy storage applications. However, common synthetic routes towards pentlandites either involve energy intensive high temperature procedures or solvothermal methods with specialized precursors and non-sustainable organic solvents. Herein, we demonstrate that ball milling is a simple and efficient method to synthesize nanosized bimetallic pentlandite particles (FeNiS, Pn) with an average size of 250 nm in a single synthetic step from elemental- or sulfidic mixtures.

Daratumumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone versus pomalidomide and dexamethasone alone in previously treated multiple myeloma (APOLLO): an open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial.

Background: In a phase 1b study, intravenous daratumumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone induced a very good partial response or better rate of 42% and was well tolerated in patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma. We aimed to evaluate whether daratumumab plus pomalidomide and dexamethasone would improve progression-free survival versus pomalidomide and dexamethasone alone in patients with previously treated multiple myeloma.

Methods: In this ongoing, open-label, randomised, phase 3 trial (APOLLO) done at 48 academic centres and hospitals across 12 European countries, eligible patients were aged 18 years or older, had relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma with measurable disease, had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-2, had at least one previous line of therapy, including lenalidomide and a proteasome inhibitor, had a partial response or better to one or more previous lines of antimyeloma therapy, and were refractory to lenalidomide if only one previous line of therapy was received.

Familial Hypercholesterolemia in the Arabian Gulf Region: Clinical results of the Gulf FH Registry.

Background And Aims: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a common autosomal dominant disorder that can result in premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Limited data are available worldwide about the prevalence and management of FH. Here, we aimed to estimate the prevalence and management of patients with FH in five Arabian Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain).

The Breadth and Molecular Basis of Hcp-Driven Type VI Secretion System Effector Delivery.

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a bacterial nanoscale weapon that delivers toxins into prey ranging from bacteria and fungi to animal hosts. The cytosolic contractile sheath of the system wraps around stacked hexameric rings of Hcp proteins, which form an inner tube. At the tip of this tube is a puncturing device comprising a trimeric VgrG topped by a monomeric PAAR protein.

High mortality co-infections of COVID-19 patients: mucormycosis and other fungal infections.

Severe COVID-19 disease is associated with an increase in pro-inflammatory markers, such as IL-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis alpha, less CD4 interferon-gamma expression, and fewer CD4 and CD8 cells, which increase the susceptibility to bacterial and fungal infections. One such opportunistic fungal infection is mucormycosis. Initially, it was debated whether a person taking immunosuppressants, such as corticosteroids, and monoclonal antibodies will be at higher risk for COVID-19 or whether the immunosuppresive state would cause a more severe COVID-19 disease.