Data mining of routine laboratory tests can predict liver disease progression in Egyptian diabetic patients with hepatitis C virus (G4) infection: a cohort study of 71 806 patients.

Objectives: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are prevalent diseases worldwide, associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and mutual association. The aims of this study were as follows: (i) find the prevalence of DM among 71 806 Egyptian patients with chronic HCV infection and its effect on liver disease progression and (ii) using data mining of routine tests to predict hepatic fibrosis in diabetic patients with HCV infection.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective multicentered study included laboratory and histopathological data of 71 806 patients with HCV infection collected by Egyptian National Committee for control of viral hepatitis.

Simultaneous determination of amlodipine and metoprolol in their combined dosage form using a synchronous fluorescence spectrofluorimetric method.

Highly sensitive, rapid, accurate and precise synchronous fluorescence spectrofluorimetric method has been developed for simultaneous analysis of a mixture of amlodipine (AMD) and metoprolol (MET). The method relies on measuring the relative synchronous fluorescence intensity of both drugs at Δλ of 90 nm in acetate buffer solution at pH 5. The experimental parameters influencing the developed method were investigated and optimized.

Pelvic floor muscle assessment on three- and four-dimensional transperineal ultrasound in women with ovarian endometriosis with or without retroperitoneal infiltration: a step towards complete functional assessment.

Objectives: Previous studies comparing women with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) and healthy controls have underlined an association between pelvic floor muscle (PFM) hypertonic dysfunction and deep lesions. The aim of this study was to compare the morphometry of PFM in women affected by ovarian endometriosis with DIE vs those without DIE in order to assess the impact of retroperitoneal infiltration by the disease on PFM function.

Methods: This was a prospective study conducted between March 2015 and December 2016 on symptomatic women with a clinical and sonographic diagnosis of ovarian endometriosis with or without DIE, scheduled for laparoscopic surgery.

Severe ureteral endometriosis: frequency and risk factors.

Ureteral endometriosis (UE) can be classified as severe when there is obstruction to urinary flow (ureteral compression (UC)). In this retrospective study on 205 patients, we evaluated intraoperatively the frequency of severe ureteral endometriosis (UE) in women with UE and, secondarily, risk factors associated with UC. We documented intraoperatively ureteral UC in 124 (60.

Laparoscopic Mesh-Less Cervicosacropexy for Uterovaginal Prolapse.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate surgical and clinical outcomes of laparoscopic mesh-less cervicosacropexy for the treatment of uterovaginal prolapse.

Methods: This single institutional review board-approved prospective cohort study enrolled 46 consecutive, sexually active symptomatic women requiring surgical correction of uterovaginal prolapse, from July 2013 to March 2016. After supracervical laparoscopic hysterectomy, the cervix was suspended to the anterior longitudinal ligament of the sacral promontory through a continuous suture with plication and shortening of the right uterosacral ligament.

Synthesis and Evaluation of a Sodium Alginate-4-Aminosalicylic Acid Based Microporous Hydrogel for Potential Viscosupplementation for Joint Injuries and Arthritis-Induced Conditions.

A microporous hydrogel was developed using sodium alginate (alg) and 4-aminosalicylic acid (4-ASA). The synthesized hydrogel was characterized using various analytical techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (C-NMR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Additonal carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups of 4-ASA provided significant lubrication and stress-triggered sol-gel transition to the conjugated hydrogel.

Development and Validation of Chemometric Spectrophotometric Methods for Simultaneous Determination of Simvastatin and Nicotinic Acid in Binary Combinations.

Background: The development and introduction of combined therapy represent a challenge for analysis due to severe overlapping of their UV spectra in case of spectroscopy or the requirement of a long tedious and high cost separation technique in case of chromatography. Quality control laboratories have to develop and validate suitable analytical procedures in order to assay such multi component preparations.

Methods: New spectrophotometric methods for the simultaneous determination of simvastatin (SIM) and nicotinic acid (NIA) in binary combinations were developed.

New diagnostic biomarker in acute diarrhea due to bacterial infection in children.

Background And Objectives: Diarrhea is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children, and diarrhea may be due to infection that is bacterial or non-bacterial. Differentiation between diarrhea from a bacterial or non-bacterial infection is not a simple task, and no single method is present to differentiate between these causes of diarrhea.To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) and procalcitonin (PCT) in the diagnosis of acute diarrhea due to bacterial infection.

Self-Assembled Nanocarriers Based on Amphiphilic Natural Polymers for Anti- Cancer Drug Delivery Applications.

Background: Micellization provides numerous merits for the delivery of water insoluble anti-cancer therapeutic agents including a nanosized 'core-shell' drug delivery system. Recently, hydrophobically-modified polysaccharides and proteins are attracting much attention as micelle forming polymers to entrap poorly soluble anti-cancer drugs.

Method: By virtue of their small size, the self-assembled micelles can passively target tumor tissues via enhanced permeation and retention effect (EPR).

Diagnostic Efficacy of Serum Amyloid A Protein and Soluble Intercellular Adhesion Molecule 1 in Pediatric Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.

Objectives: Study of inflammatory biomarkers which may aid in early detection of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in children and predicting their outcome.

Patients: Thirty-five children, aged 2 months to 13 years, needed mechanical ventilation (MV) for more than 48 hours due to causes other than pneumonia.

Methods: Measurement of serum amyloid A (SAA) protein, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (sICAM-1), and C-reactive protein (CRP), modified clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) and performing culture of endotracheal aspirate at the start and on the third day of MV.

Blind testing cross-linking/mass spectrometry under the auspices of the 11 critical assessment of methods of protein structure prediction (CASP11).

Determining the structure of a protein by any method requires various contributions from experimental and computational sides. In a recent study, high-density cross-linking/mass spectrometry (HD-CLMS) data in combination with structure prediction determined the structure of human serum albumin (HSA) domains, with an RMSD to X-ray structure of up to 2.5 Å, or 3.

A composite chitosan-gelatin bi-layered, biomimetic macroporous scaffold for blood vessel tissue engineering.

A composite chitosan-gelatin macroporous hydrogel-based scaffold with bi-layered tubular architecture was engineered by solvent casting-co-particulate leaching. The scaffold constituted an inner macroporous layer concealed by a non-porous outer layer mimicking the 3D matrix of blood vessels with cellular adhesion and proliferation. The scaffold was evaluated for its morphological, physicochemical, physicomechanical and biodurability properties employing SEM, FTIR, DSC, XRD, porositometry, rheology and texture analysis.

A Review of Thermo- and Ultrasound-Responsive Polymeric Systems for Delivery of Chemotherapeutic Agents.

There has been an exponential increase in research into the development of thermal- and ultrasound-activated delivery systems for cancer therapy. The majority of researchers employ polymer technology that responds to environmental stimuli some of which are physiologically induced such as temperature, pH, as well as electrical impulses, which are considered as internal stimuli. External stimuli include ultrasound, light, laser, and magnetic induction.

Pelvic floor muscle dysfunction on 3D/4D transperineal ultrasound in patients with deep infiltrating endometriosis: a pilot study.

Objective: Pelvic floor muscle (PFM) dysfunction seems to play an important role in the pathophysiology of pelvic pain, including that associated with deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE). The aim of this study was to evaluate the static and dynamic morphometry of the PFM using three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) transperineal ultrasound in women with DIE compared with asymptomatic healthy women.

Methods: This was a pilot, prospective study conducted at our tertiary center between March and November 2015.

Protective Role of Silymarin on Hepatic and Renal Toxicity Induced by MTX Based Chemotherapy in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Background: ALL is the most common childhood malignancy. The children with ALL are treated with methotrexate (MTX) based chemotherapy protocols. MTX causes unpredictable serious hepatic and renal side effects.

Development and Validation of Chemometric-Assisted Spectrophotometric Methods for Simultaneous Determination of Phenylephrine Hydrochloride and Ketorolac Tromethamine in Binary Combinations.

The present work describes new spectrophotometric methods for the simultaneous determination of phenylephrine hydrochloride and ketorolac tromethamine in their synthetic mixtures. The applied chemometric techniques are multivariate methods including classical least squares, principal component regression, and partial least squares. In these techniques, the concentration data matrix was prepared by using the synthetic mixtures containing these drugs dissolved in distilled water.

Molecular prevalence and genetic characterization of piroplasms in dogs from Tunisia.

In this study, the prevalence of piroplasms in dogs was assessed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify Babesia and Theileria species in 200 dogs from Northern and Central Tunisia between spring and autumn 2014. The overall molecular prevalence for piroplasms was 14·5% ± 0·05 (29/200); PCR detected 2 species, namely Babesia vogeli and Theileria annulata with an overall prevalence of 12·5 ± 0·04 and 2% ± 0·02, respectively. No differences in the molecular prevalences of B.

Molecular Study of Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens in Dogs from Tunisia.

Dirofilaria immitis and Dirofilaria repens are mosquito-borne nematodes which infect primarily dogs as their main definitive hosts. They cause cardiopulmonary (D. immitis) or cutaneous (D.

The Influence of Lyophilized EmuGel Silica Microspheres on the Physicomechanical Properties, In Vitro Bioactivity and Biodegradation of a Novel Ciprofloxacin-Loaded PCL/PAA Scaffold.

A new composite poly(caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) (PCL:PAA 1:5) scaffold was synthesized via dispersion of PCL particles into a PAA network. Silica microspheres (Si) (2⁻12 μm) were then prepared by a lyophilized micro-emulsion/sol-gel (Emugel) system using varying weight ratios. The model drug ciprofloxacin (CFX) was used for incorporation into the scaffold.

Event Recognition for Contactless Activity Monitoring Using Phase-Modulated Continuous Wave Radar.

Objectives: The use of remote sensing technologies such as radar is gaining popularity as a technique for contactless detection of physiological signals and analysis of human motion. This paper presents a methodology for classifying different events in a collection of phase modulated continuous wave radar returns. The primary application of interest is to monitor inmates where the presence of human vital signs amidst different, interferences needs to be identified.

Ca3(PO4)2 precipitated layering of an in situ hybridized PVA/Ca2O4Si nanofibrous antibacterial wound dressing.

The aim of this study was to develop an in situ hybridized poly(vinyl alcohol)/calcium silicate (PVA/Ca2OSi) nanofibrous antibacterial wound dressing with calcium phosphate [Ca3(PO4)2] surface precipitation for enhanced bioactivity. This was achieved by hybridizing the antibacterial ions Zn(2+) and/or Ag(+) in a Ca2O4Si composite. The hybridization effect on the thermal behavior, physicochemical, morphological, and physicomechanical properties of the nanofibers was studied using Differential Scanning calorimetric (DSC), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Textural Analysis, respectively.

Antioxidative/oxidative effects and retarding osteoconductivity of ciprofloxacin-loaded porous polyvinyl alcohol/bioactive glass hybrid.

This study investigated the effect of bioglass (melting)-polyvinyl alcohol (BG (M)-PVA) and bioglass (melting)-polyvinyl alcohol-20 %ciprofloxacin (BG(M)-PVA-20Cip) in improving antioxidant activity and regenerating bone capacity. These composites were implanted in femoral condyles of ovariectomized Wistar rats and compared to that of controls groups. After the different period of implantation (15, 30, 60 and 90 days), the treatment of ovariectomized rats with BG(M)-PVA-20Cip showed a significantly higher malondialdehyde concentration when compared to that of BG(M)-PVA group.

Therapeutic outcome of 6198 interferon-naïve Egyptian patients with chronic hepatitis C: a real-life experience and lessons to be learned in DAAs' era.

Antiviral therapy for HCV infection has been validated in randomized controlled clinical trials, but its value in the real world is less well studied. There is relatively little data on real-world responses to interferon-based therapies for patients with genotype 4 infection. We aimed to examine experience with large-scale access to antiviral therapy in chronic HCV in a real-life clinical setting in Egypt.