13780 research outputs found
Sort by
Cervical Cancer Screening and HPV Vaccine Intentions: An Egyptian Population Assessment through University Channels
Get PDFBackground: Cervical cancer remains a significant global health burden, disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. While HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening programs have shown promise in reducing incidence and mortality, access to these interventions remains limited in Egypt. The purpose of this study was to analyze female and male beliefs, knowledge of, and perceptions related to cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination, and how these factors influence women and men’s intentions to respectively undergo or promote these behaviors in Egypt. This study also aimed to develop recommendations for more effective cervical cancer prevention measures that promote greater uptake among women, and greater prevention promotion among men. Methods: Based on a quantitative cross-sectional study design, a self-administered questionnaire was developed according to the Theory of Reasoned Action and Health Promotion Model, and measured individual intention to engage in or promote cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination among the target population. Non-random convenience sampling among the Egyptian population through university channels was utilized. Correlation analysis was performed to assess the associations between the measured variables. Multi-regression analysis was also conducted to predict female and male intention separately. Results: With a total of 281 survey respondents, the research results revealed that for females, greater perceived benefits, fewer perceived barriers, higher self-efficacy, positive activity-related affect, a supportive subjective norm, and favorable situational influences were positively correlated with screening and vaccination intention. For males, the factors influencing promotion intention were perceived self-efficacy and activity-related affect. Activity-related affect and situational influences were found to be statistically significant predictors of females’ intention, and vaccination status and activity-related affect as statistically significant predictors of males’ intention. Conclusion: This study is among the first to comprehensively investigate factors influencing cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination intentions among Egyptians reached through university channels. The findings emphasize the need for government-supported, gender-specific interventions that increase positive activity-related affect for both genders, improve situational influences for women, and emphasize men\u27s role in health promotion to increase engagement in these preventive health behaviors, ultimately improving cervical cancer prevention outcomes in Egypt
Evaluating the Performance of Broccoli (Brassica Oleracea var. Italica) in the Sandponics System Using Brackish Water with Biochar and Compost
No full textSome of the most pronounced effects of climate change on agricultural output include the depletion of freshwater resources and heightened salinization of arable land, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, adversely affecting crop yields. Many economic vegetable crops including members of the brassica family are sensitive to salt-stress. The use of organic soil amendments such as biochar and compost as complimentary nutrient sources in the sandponics system can improve the performance of crops. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of organic amendment on the growth performance and yield of broccoli and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) under brackish water utilization. There were eight treatments, (sand, sand + biochar, sand + compost, sand+ compost + biochar) which received either fresh or brackish water irrigation. Freshwater with a salinity level of 400 ppm and brackish water of 3500 ppm were used to rear tilapia fish and the water was eventually used to irrigate the crop beds established with different growing media. The result of this study shows that there are no significant differences in the yield of broccoli irrigated with freshwater (FW); FW compost+ biochar gave the highest yield 14.29t/ha, followed closely by FW compost with 14.07t/ha, FW biochar 13.93t/ha and the control was 13.31t/ha. In contrast, broccoli irrigated with brackish water (BW) showed significant differences in yield; the treatment BW compost + biochar gave the highest yield of 13.36 t/ha, followed by BW compost with 12.2t/ha, BW biochar with 11.54t/ha and control recorded 10.27t/ha in yield. Our study concluded that; brackish water when used with compost and biochar in broccoli production in our sandponics system improve crop yield without having adverse effect on the nutritional composition
What Was That Brand? Exploring the Vampire Effect in Online Advertising
No full textThis study investigates the vampire effect in online advertising, examining how spectacular creative elements can overshadow brand and message recall in digital environments. While previous research has primarily focused on celebrity endorsement in traditional media, this study expands the understanding of the vampire effect by examining four key elements: breathtaking panoramic views, overpowering celebrity endorsements, amazing concepts, and overwhelming jingles. Through an experimental design involving 35 participants exposed to advertisements embedded within digital content, this research demonstrates that all four elements significantly impact brand recall, while celebrity endorsement and amazing concepts also affect message recall. The study employs attention theory and the concept of awe to explain these effects, suggesting that spectacular elements trigger specific cognitive processes that can interfere with brand information encoding. This study contributes to the vampire effect theory by adding three additional dimensions that were not discussed before- overwhelming jingles, amazing concepts, and astonishing panoramic views- as direct causes of the vampire effect. The findings contribute to advertising theory by extending vampire effect research into digital contexts and provide practical implications for managing creative elements in online advertising. Results indicate that integrating brand elements throughout advertisements, rather than treating them as separate components, may help mitigate the vampire effect. This research offers valuable insights for advertising practitioners while highlighting the need for further investigation into platform-specific effects and long-term recall implications
Identification of Skin Multicellular Reprogramming Factors as Potential Treatment for Non-Healing Diabetic Foot Ulcer
No full textBackground. Diabetes mellitus (DM) affects approximately 550 million individuals worldwide, with an estimated 18.6 million developing diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) annually due to poor vascularization and limited healing capacity. These ulcers present significant treatment challenges, exhibiting high recurrence rates and susceptibility to secondary infections, ultimately leading to amputation in approximately 20% of affected patients. The intricate ulcer microenvironment, which requires coordination among multiple cell types, complicates the identification of a single therapeutic target to enhance healing outcomes.
Aim. The purpose of this research was to identify potential multicellular reprogramming factors to induce healing in diabetic patients with non-healing DFU.
Materials and Methods. This research used single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets (GEO accession number GSE165816) to analyze gene expression alterations, biological processes, and cell-cell interactions in DFU with divergent healing outcomes. A cell type-specific gene regulatory network was leveraged to identify transcription factors (TF) with differential activity between healing and non-healing DFU. Subsequently, in silico TF overexpression simulations were conducted to identify TF combinations that maximize targeting upregulated genes in healing DFU across multiple cell types, with the goal of inducing cell state transitions from non-healing to healing states. Additional scRNA-seq and Visium transcriptomics datasets (GSE167406, GSE142471, GSE178758, GSE153596, and GSE241124) were analyzed to assess the similarity between the identified cell states in this research and their identified cell ones. Finally, spatial transcriptomics validation was performed using Xenium 10xGenomics technology to confirm the differential expression of the identified TFs in healing and non-healing DFU human skin samples.
Results. Comparative gene expression analysis between healing and non-healing DFU across various cell types identified 902 differentially expressed genes (log2FC ≥ 0.5). Several biological processes were significantly downregulated in the non-healing group, including vasculature development in vascular endothelial cells, endoderm formation in fibroblasts, and antimicrobial responses in immune cells. A healing-specific subset of myeloid cells (FPR1+) was found to receive signals from the ligand ANXA1, promoting healing, whereas TLR4+ myeloid cells were more abundant in the non-healing group, potentially contributing to impaired healing. Additionally, a healing-specific fibroblast subset was identified, exhibiting a gene signature associated with angiogenic potential, similar to an identified fibroblast subset in multiple other studies that support angiogenesis. Both the healing-specific myeloid and fibroblast subsets showed elevated expression of VEGFA, a key factor in blood vessel development. TF activity estimation revealed 387 TFs with altered activity in at least one cell type between healing and non-healing DFUs. Notably, NR3C1, encoding the glucocorticoid receptor, exhibited increased activity in the non-healing group, suggesting its involvement in healing impairment. In silico TF overexpression simulations identified a combination of TFs—FOSL2, CREB3L1, ETS1, and XBP1—that collectively targeted 66.5% of upregulated genes in healing DFU while affecting only 12.5% of downregulated genes. This TF combination effectively covered 95%, 90%, and 77% of upregulated genes involved in vasculature development (vascular endothelial cells), endoderm formation (fibroblasts), and antimicrobial response (myeloid cells), respectively. Spatial transcriptomics using Xenium confirmed the elevated expression of ETS1 and the reduced expression of NR3C1 in healing DFU samples. Furthermore, Visium-based spatial transcriptomics revealed that CREB3L1 and ETS1 exhibited the highest positive correlation with vasculature development, while XBP1 demonstrated the strongest correlation with antimicrobial response. Notably, ETS1 expression was upregulated in multiple cell types, including vascular endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and keratinocytes, highlighting its broader role in wound healing beyond vasculature development.
Conclusion. This study emphasizes the critical role of coordinated interactions among vascular endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and immune cells in the impaired revascularization observed in non-healing DFUs. Four TFs—FOSL2, CREB3L1, ETS1, and XBP1—were identified as potential reprogramming factors capable of restoring healing in non-healing DFUs by shifting the transcriptional states of key cell types. Upregulation of these TFs may facilitate the transition from non-healing to healing states. Further experimental validation is warranted to assess the therapeutic potential of these TF combinations in promoting DFU healing. This study provides novel insights into shared and cell type-specific transcriptional activities underlying DFU healing, paving the way for targeted interventions through TF-based therapies to improve patient outcomes
Practicality of Implementing Sub-Clause 8.4 [Advance Warning] of the FIDIC 2017 Red Book in Egypt
Get PDFDisputes in construction projects can cause cost and time overruns that can be detrimental to the parties involved and to the project. Several measures have been advocated by the industry’s practitioners in an attempt to avoid disputes and their adverse impacts. One of these measures is the introduction of advance warning sub-clauses in construction contracts, where the contracting parties play a proactive and collaborative role in warning each other of potential adverse impacts to the project. Such clauses have been in the NEC suite of standard construction contracts for decades and have recently found their way to the 2017 edition of the FIDIC Red Book. In light of the consistent popularity of the FIDIC contract in the Egyptian construction industry for nearly three decades, this study explores the practicality of implementing this sub-clause, 8.4 [Advance Warning], in the Egyptian construction market and touches on whether applying this sub-clause could prove to be a legal requirement under Egyptian law. Interviews were conducted with practitioners in the industry to explore the extent of the market’s willingness to adhere to the obligations set forth in sub-clause 8.4. Twenty professionals with more than ten years of experience in project and contract management in the Egyptian market were interviewed and the study found that interviewees would not give an advance warning in 65% of cases that require the same. This percentage increases to 78.5% when an underlying commercial benefit was added to each scenario.
Challenges to implementation were also identified through the interviews and categorized into the following: 1: Pursuit of Commercial Benefit 2: Assuming No Obligation to Inform Other Party 3: Engineers\u27 Reluctance to Inform Contractors Without Consulting Employers 4: Reluctance to Give Warnings for Events that did not Materialize 5: Concern that Contractors May Seeks Monies Via Other Claims
The original sub-clause was then amended to take these challenges into account. Afterwards, the redrafted sub-clause and the research findings were presented to experts within the industry who possess fifteen or more years of experience to validate the results. The experts had further insights and suggested further tweaks to the amended sub-clause to reach a final revised version. It is notable that this final version’s employment is not limited to the 2017 FIDIC Red Book but can be employed in any edition of the FIDIC suite of contracts and in any standard form of contracts by including it in the pertaining particular conditions. This research topic was also the subject of a webinar conducted by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators that was attended by over forty professionals who also had insights about this topic. The professionals’ opinions are also shared in this paper
Gardenia Jasminoides Extract as a Potential Neuroprotective Agent in an in Vitro Tauopathy Model
Get PDFAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by the selective loss of neurons in various brain regions, leading to cognitive dysfunction. Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein accumulate within neuronal cells leading to cell death. The development of effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) remains a significant challenge, with neuroprotection emerging as a promising therapeutic strategy to slow disease progression and preserve cognitive function.
Objective: This study aims to investigate the potential neuroprotective effect of Gardenia jasminoides fruit extract, which contains geniposide, a biologically active compound known for its neuroprotective properties, in mitigating Tau hyperphosphorylation in an in vitro model of Tauopathy induced by zinc sulfate in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells.
Methods and Results: To assess the neurotoxic effects of zinc sulfate and the potential neuroprotective effects of Gardenia jasminoides extract, an MTT assay, followed by calcein staining were performed. Both assays confirmed that zinc sulfate (100 μM for 4 hours) induced significant neurotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells, as evidenced by reduced cell viability and increased cellular damage. Pretreatment with Gardenia jasminoides extract (100 μM for 2 hours) significantly decreased the cytotoxic effects of zinc sulfate, improving cell viability and reducing cell damage, indicating the extract\u27s neuroprotective potential.
Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis of the expression of apoptosis-related genes, showed that zinc sulfate treatment induced significant apoptosis, as evidenced by an increase in BAX/BCL-2 gene expression ratio. However, pretreatment with Gardenia jasminoides extract significantly reduced the expression of these genes, suggesting that the extract mitigated apoptosis induced by zinc sulfate.
To assess tau hyperphosphorylation and the activation of key signaling pathways, two complementary techniques were used: immunostaining and cell-based ELISA. Both techniques showed that Zinc sulfate treatment significantly increased the phosphorylation of tau at Ser396, a marker of tau hyperphosphorylation, and this effect was associated with increased GSK-3β activity. In contrast, pretreatment with Gardenia jasminoides extract reduced tau hyperphosphorylation and GSK-3β activity, providing evidence for the extract\u27s ability to modulate tau pathology.
Conclusion: Gardenia jasminoides extract demonstrates promising neuroprotective activity in an in vitro model of zinc-induced neurotoxicity and tauopathy, suggesting its potential as a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease
The Effect of Age of Acquisition on the Development of Lexical Attainment and Oral Proficiency in English as L2 in Adult Native Arabic Speakers
Get PDFThis study investigates the influence of the age of acquisition (AoA) on the development of lexical attainment and oral proficiency in English as a second language (L2) among adult native Arabic speakers, focusing on classroom foreign language learners within the Egyptian context. AoA, a critical variable in second language acquisition (SLA) research, is explored in relation to two key domains: lexical knowledge and oral proficiency. The study examines the role of AoA and AoA related effects, such as the order of bilingualism and the length of exposure to rich language input (LoE) as a confounding factor. Through a mixed-methods approach, the research quantitatively assesses vocabulary size using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5) and qualitatively analyzes oral speech production based on spontaneous speech samples. The participants, 42 native Arabic speakers aged 23-28, were categorized based on their age of English L2 acquisition onset, representing early childhood and late childhood sequential bilinguals. The findings reveal significant correlations between AoA and L2 proficiency, with early bilinguals generally outperforming late bilinguals in both lexical knowledge and oral proficiency. However, the study also attempts to investigate the impact of LoE on L2 development, suggesting that extended exposure to rich language input might compensate for the disadvantages associated with late acquisition. The findings could contribute to the ongoing debate on AoA effects in SLA and offer implications for language education policies and practices, particularly in contexts involving the Arabic-English language pair
Local and Transregional Networks of Women in Late Medieval Mecca and the Mamluk Empire
No full textThis thesis examines the local and transregional networks of women in Mecca during the ninth/fifteenth century, as represented in the biographical dictionaries of al-Sakhāwī (d. 902/1497), Ibn Fahd (d. 885/1480), and al-Fāsī (d. 832/1429). It combines qualitative and quantitative methods in order to analyze the family, knowledge, and travels networks of women in late medieval Mecca and the Mamluk empire. It argues that Meccan women’s social and intellectual roles extended beyond their families, to other families, scholars, and regions. Simultaneously, the thesis focuses on Mecca as a central node in the networks that tied together different regions of the Mamluk empire, and it examines the city’s position within these networks from the perspective of women. It argues that ḥadīth transmission and travel demonstrate that Meccan and non-Meccan women played important social, intellectual, and economic roles that helped keep Mecca connected to the other regions of the Mamluk empire
The Role of Social Support in Protecting Against Perinatal Depression Among Egyptian Women
Get PDFPerinatal Depression (PND) is a global public health issue affecting many women as they transition to motherhood, and carrying detrimental consequences for both mothers and infants. Research in low and middle-income countries shows higher PND prevalence rates than in high-income and Western countries. In addition, social support has been shown to strongly protect or reduce the impact of PND. This study aimed to address a gap in research on PND in Egypt, and to build an understanding of the social support ecological system of new mothers. A survey was conducted with 81 first-time middle-class mothers living in Greater Cairo between 1 and 12 months postpartum. It was found that 70.4% of mothers exceeded the EPDS cut-off score of 13, signaling a high rate of PND symptoms. A strong, significant correlation was detected between PND symptoms prevalence and functional social support. Furthermore, functional social support moderated the association between PND scores and mothers’ weekly outings, stressful life events, and having hired help in the household. Availability of informational, instrumental, emotional, and appraisal support was provided through mothers’ informal and formal support networks. Participants’ husbands and mothers provided the most support in the informal network across all support types, while pediatricians presented the most informational support within the formal network of support. Several postpartum challenges were reported, with breastfeeding the most common. Many participants had unrealistic expectations about motherhood, and most expected motherhood to be rather easy. These findings indicate the importance of raising public awareness of perinatal depression and the challenges of motherhood
The Role of Non-coding RNAs as an Innovative Therapeutic Tool for Hepatocellular Carcinoma
No full textHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second lethal cancer worldwide, with over 60 million new patients added annually. Hepatitis B infection and toxins, e.g., aflatoxin, contribute to the incidence of HCC. Egypt and China show the highest prevalence of viral hepatitis and HCC in the world.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are non-protein-coding transcripts larger than 200 nucleotides. These transcripts work at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and epigenetic levels to regulate gene expression by interacting with various biomolecules, such as RNA, DNA, and proteins. They serve essential functions in chromatin remodeling and cell survival, differentiation, and proliferation. The role and biological interactions of lncRNAs, especially in HCC, are complex. Evidence suggests that aberrant expression of lncRNAs is linked to the incidence, invasiveness, and metastasis of HCC. LncRNAs also have potential use as markers for early detection of HCC.
The majority of HCC cases are discovered late at an advanced stage due to the lack of early diagnostic markers. Studies suggest that the diagnostic accuracy of lncRNAs may be affected by many factors, including viral co-infections of patients with HCC. However, differences in the diagnostic accuracy of lncRNAs between Asian and African countries are not statistically significant.
The roles of lncRNAs in HCC have been reported to be associated with tumor growth and proliferation (such as HULC, MEG3, CCAT1, PVT1, and PTENP1) and associated with metastasis and prognosis (such as H19, MALAT1, HOTAIR, HOTTIP, HEIH, and lncRNA-p21).
This study investigates the potential role of some lncRNAs that are known to be aberrantly expressed in human HCC tissues to identify suitable candidates for future use as diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic tools in HCC