205 research outputs found
Panoramic radiography as an aid in diagnosing mandibular fractures
No full textA retrospective study was undertaken to determine the reliability of the panoramic radiograph (PR) in the evaluation of fractures in the mandible. Among the 62 fractures present in the 52 patients included in this study, 57 fractures (92%) were recognized in the panoramic radiographs, while 5 fractures (8%) were missed and detected in other types of plain films. Four out of the fifty-two patients included in the study had no PR made as the primary diagnostic radiograph was taken for various medical problems. It was concluded that PR provides useful diagnostic information in evaluating mandibular fracture, however, limitations were noted. Other plain films may be needed when PR is negative and there is clinical evidence that a fracture exists.Corresponding Author:
Dr. Asmaa A. Al-Musaed, lecturer, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, P.O. Box 50771, Riyadh 11533 Saudi Arabia. Email
فاعلية استخدام استراتيجية pave في تعلم مفردات اللغة الانجليزية و استبقائها لدى طالبات الصف الحادي عشر
No full textThe prevalence of pulmonary aspergillosis in coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients in Shebin El-Kom teaching hospital in Egypt
No full textBackground
A high rate of invasive fungal infection has been demonstrated among critically COVID-19 ill patients admitted to the ICU, with high odds of mortality. Simple and rapid risk stratification methods are mandatory to recognize severe patients.
Objectives
The aims was to study the prevalence of invasive fungal infection in Corona virus disease 19 (COVID-19) patients, the effect of some inflammatory markers that lead to the development and progression of invasive fungal infection and to assess the value of PCR in early and rapid detection of invasive fungal infection in immune compromised patients with COVID-19.
Methods
This study was conducted at the period from October 2020 to October 2021 on two groups classified as following: Group I: included 120 immuno-compromised inpatients (2-80 years), (68 males and 52 females) from ICUs. Group II: included 40 outpatient's COVID-19 (4 – 56 years). All basic laboratory biomarkers at time of admission were recorded.
Results
Of this study showeda highly significant increase in neutrophil/ lymph, IL6,CRP, D-dimer and malondialdhyde (MDA) in COVID-19 patients in ICU compared with outpatient one with P value < 0.001). No significant difference between them in LDH, ferritin and procalcitonine. The most common isolated organisms (167 isolates) from group I (230 samples from 120 patients) were bacterial spp. (111/167, 66.5%)followed by Candida spp. (30, 17.9%), Aspergillus spp. (11, 6.6%) while mucormycosis was 5 isolates (3%) and associated bacterial infection represented 5.9%of all. Out of 120 patients suspected of complaining of BSI 17 (14.1%) of them proved to be fungemia. The most common isolated yeast was Candida spp. (11/120, 9.1%) followed by Aspergillus spp. (6/120, 5%). While out of 20 patients (group I) suspected of complaining of eye infections, mucormycosis was represented by 5/20 (25%). Fungaemia was detected by PCR and blood culture in 50 high risk ICU patients was 22/50 (44%) and 17/50 (34%) respectively. PCR is more sensitive than blood culture, as blood culture failed to detect 5 cases of fungemia with a significant difference (P-value <0.05).
Conclusion
Increase in neutrophil/lymph, IL6,CRP, D-dimer and MDA in COVID-19 ICU patients compared with outpatients may be significant biomarkers used to detect severity of disease in ICU patients and monitor treatment. Also decrease in immunity as results of corticostorides admission, lead to presence of fungaemia in some patients in ICU
Pharmacokinetics/Pharmacodynamics and Analysis of the Effect of β-Amyloid Peptide on Acetylcholine Neurocycle and Alzheimer’s Disease Medications
No full textThe brain of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by accumulations of β-amyloid peptide aggregates which promote neurodegentartive dysfunction. Comprehensive understanding of the interaction between β-amyloid aggregates and acetylcholine (ACh) neurocycle is required to uncover the physiological processes related to AD and might result in improving therapeutic approaches for AD. Pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) techniques were applied to allow predicting the extent of the interaction of certain doses of AD drugs and β-amyloid inhibitors and levels of ACh as well. Although many researchers focused on the β-amyloid interactions, the mechanisms by which β-amyloid affects cholinergic neurons and reduction of ACh are still unclear. The prediction of ACh and drug concentrations in the tissues and body needs an understanding of the physiology and mechanisms of β-amyloid aggregates processes and their compilation into a mechanistic model
In this work, two hypotheses are proposed to investigate the dynamic behavior of the interaction between β-amyloid peptide aggregates and cholinergic neurocycle and the possible therapeutic approaches through proposing pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) models to represent the impact of β-amyloid aggregates in AD. The effect of β-amyloid peptide aggregates is formulated through incorporating β- amyloid aggregates into non-linear model for the neurocycle of ACh where the presynaptic neuron is considered as compartment 1 and both synaptic cleft and postsynaptic neurons are considered as compartment 2. In the first hypothesis which is choline leakage hypothesis, β-amyloid peptide aggregates are considered to be located in the membrane of the presynaptic neuron and create pathways inside the membrane to allow for the intracellular choline to leak outside the cholinergic system. It is observed that β-amyloid aggregates via the choline leakage hypothesis could cause significant reductions of ACh and choline levels in both compartments. Furthermore, the process rates of ACh synthesis and hydrolysis have been affected negatively by a wide range of β-amyloid aggregate concentrations. It is found that as the input rate of β-amyloid aggregates to compartment 1 increases, the loss of choline from compartment 1 increases leading to an increase in the intracellular concentration of β-amyloid.
In the second hypothesis, β-amyloid peptide aggregates are proposed to interact with the enzyme ChAT which is responsible for the synthesis of ACh in compartment 1; three different kinetic mechanisms are suggested to account for the interaction between β-amyloid aggregates and ChAT activity. In the first and second kinetic mechanisms, β-amyloid aggregate is supposed to attack different species in the enzyme. It is found that there is a significant decrease in the rate of ACh synthesis in compartment 1 and ACh concentrations in both compartments. However, it is observed that there is no effect on choline levels in both compartments, the rate of ACh hydrolysis in compartment 2, pH, and ACh levels in compartment 2. In the third kinetic mechanism, all species in ChAT are attacked by β-amyloid aggregates; it is observed that at very high input rates of β-amyloid aggregates, the oscillatory behavior dominates all components of the neurocycle of ACh. The disturbance observed in ACh levels in both compartments explains the harmful effect of the full attack of β-amyloid aggregates to all species of ChAT. It is found that to contribute significantly in ACh neurocycle, choline leakage hypothesis needs concentration of β-amyloid aggregates lower than that needed in ChAT activity hypothesis which is in agreement with experimental observations. The significant decrease in ACh levels observed in both choline leakage and loss of ChAT activity hypotheses leads to cognitive loss and memory impairment which were observed in individuals with AD.
A one-compartment drug PK/PD model is proposed to investigate a therapeutic approach for inhibiting β-amyloid aggregation via choline leakage hypothesis where the maximum feed rate of β-amyloid (KL2 = 1) is considered. The drug is assumed to interact with the tissues of the presynaptic neurons where β-amyloid aggregates are located. The PK/PD model is built based on the effect of β-amyloid aggregates via choline leakage hypothesis where the maximum feed rate of β-amyloid aggregates is considered. The dynamic behavior of all concentrations of β-amyloid aggregates, choline, ACh, acetate, and pH in both compartments in addition to the rate of ACh synthesis in compartment 1 and ACh hydrolysis are investigated by monitoring the impacts of the drug on β-amyloid aggregates and cholinergic neurocycle over a wide range of the input drug dosage. The PK/PD model is able to predict the reduction in levels of β-amyloid aggregates and the increase in choline and ACh, in both compartments as well as both rates of ACh synthesis and hydrolysis catalyzed. The parameters of the PK/PD model such as maximum concentration (Cmax), maximum time (Tmax), area under the curve (AUC), and maximum effect (Emax) were investigated. It was found that it takes a longer time (Tmax) (3-5 h) to reach Emax as the drug dose increases. Furthermore, AUC was found to increase with increasing drug dosage. The results of the current work show that drugs / therapeutic agents inhibiting β- amyloid aggregation in the brain represent a likely successful therapeutic approach to give systematic highlights to develop future trials, new diagnostic techniques, and medications for AD. This study is helpful in designing PK and PD and developing experimental animal models to support AD drug development and therapy in the future
Herpes simplex keratitis following coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination: an observational study of forty-three cases with different presentations
No full textObjective The aim of this study was to evaluate the cases diagnosed with different presentations of herpes simplex virus (HSV) keratitis following coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination and to describe the relationship between the disease presentation, the type of vaccine, and the duration between vaccination and disease onset.
Patients and methods This is a retrospective observational clinical study of HSV keratitis cases that was carried out by the Cornea Team at Alexandria Ophthalmology Hospital, Alexandria, Egypt, between March and September 2022. Full medical and ophthalmic history was taken, followed by a thorough ophthalmic examination. The vaccination data of the patients were recorded. The hospital records of the patients visiting the outpatient clinics, at that period, were collected regarding the number of vaccinated and nonvaccinated patients and the type of vaccine received.
Results The study included 43 eyes of 43 patients. Typical dendritic corneal ulcer occurred in 21 (48.8%) eyes, while 5 (11.6%) eyes presented with a geographic ulcer, and 14 (32.6%) eyes were diagnosed as interstitial keratitis with or without ulceration. The remaining 3 (6.98%) eyes presented with disciform keratitis. Vaccination was previously received by 40 (93.02%) patients, while only 3 patients did not receive any vaccine. Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccine was received by 14 (35%) patients, while the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was received by 13 (32.5%) patients, Sinovac vaccine by 10 (25%) patients, and other types of vaccines by three (7.5%) patients. The duration between the last dose received from the vaccine and the onset of symptoms ranged between 2 and 58 days (mean=18.35±13.3 days). Reviewing the hospital records, out of the 65 321 patients who visited the hospital during that period, 47% were nonvaccinated, and 53% were vaccinated with one dose or more of COVID-19 vaccine (Odds ratio=11.8207 indicating a significant association between HSV keratitis and vaccination).
Conclusion Reactivation of HSV keratitis may follow COVID-19 vaccination with different presentations of herpetic keratitis. The Oxford-AstraZeneca and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines were significantly associated with HSV ocular infection more than any other type of vaccine
Relationship between Nursing Students' Motivation to Learn and Their Competency Self-Efficacy at Secondary Technical Schools of Nursing
No full textAbstract: Motivation to learn and competency self-efficacy(CSE) are two of the most influential factors that affect nursing students academic performance and clinical success. Aim: Investigate the relationship between nursing students' motivation to learn and their competency self-efficacy. Study design: A descriptive correlational research design was utilized to conduct this study. Setting: in 6 schools (3 female- 3male) out of 19 Secondary Nursing Technical Schools in Kafr El-Shikh governorate. Subjects: included Nursing Students in the previously selected settings (n=278) (134 female and 144 male). Tools: Two tools were used to conduct this study: Motivation to learn questionnaire and Nursing competency self-efficacy scale (NCSE). Results: The finding of this study revealed that the vast majority of the studied nursing students had high level of motivation to learn and nursing students had high level of competency self-efficacy. Conclusion: There was high levels of nursing students’ motivation to learn and high levels of competency self-efficacy (CSE). A statistically significant relationship was noticed between motivation to learn and competency self-efficacy. Recommendations: Develop strategies to motivate nursing students to learn and improve their competency self-efficacy.
Keywords: Motivation to learn, Nursing competency self-efficacy, Nursing students.
Title: Relationship between Nursing Students’ Motivation to Learn and Their Competency Self-Efficacy at Secondary Technical Schools of Nursing
Author: Asmaa Gomaa El-Gaafarey Mohamed, Neamat Mohamed El-sayed, Heba Mohamed Alanwar Ashour
Title: Relationship between Nursing Students’ Motivation to Learn and Their Competency Self-Efficacy at Secondary Technical Schools of Nursing
Author: Asmaa Gomaa El-Gaafarey Mohamed, Neamat Mohamed El-sayed, Heba Mohamed Alanwar Ashour
International Journal of Novel Research in Healthcare and Nursing
ISSN 2394-7330
Vol. 10, Issue 1, January 2023 - April 2023
Page No: 22-35
Novelty Journals
Website: www.noveltyjournals.com
Published Date: 12-January-2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7528763
Paper Download Link (Source)
https://www.noveltyjournals.com/upload/paper/Relationship%20between%20Nursing%20Students-12012023-1.pdfInternational Journal of Novel Research in Healthcare and Nursing, ISSN 2394-7330, Novelty Journals, Website: www.noveltyjournals.co
Author Correction: Immunogenicity and reactogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines BNT162b2 and CoronaVac in healthy adolescents (Nature Communications, (2022), 13, 1, (3700), 10.1038/s41467-022-31485-z)
No full textIn this article, the affiliation ‘HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, School of Public Health, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China’ for Carolyn A. Cohen, Asmaa Hachim, Niloufar Kavian and Sophie Valkenburg was missing. The original article has been corrected.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
The telomere binding protein TRF2 induces chromatin compaction.
No full textMammalian telomeres are specialized chromatin structures that require the telomere binding protein, TRF2, for maintaining chromosome stability. In addition to its ability to modulate DNA repair activities, TRF2 also has direct effects on DNA structure and topology. Given that mammalian telomeric chromatin includes nucleosomes, we investigated the effect of this protein on chromatin structure. TRF2 bound to reconstituted telomeric nucleosomal fibers through both its basic N-terminus and its C-terminal DNA binding domain. Analytical agarose gel electrophoresis (AAGE) studies showed that TRF2 promoted the folding of nucleosomal arrays into more compact structures by neutralizing negative surface charge. A construct containing the N-terminal and TRFH domains together altered the charge and radius of nucleosomal arrays similarly to full-length TRF2 suggesting that TRF2-driven changes in global chromatin structure were largely due to these regions. However, the most compact chromatin structures were induced by the isolated basic N-terminal region, as judged by both AAGE and atomic force microscopy. Although the N-terminal region condensed nucleosomal array fibers, the TRFH domain, known to alter DNA topology, was required for stimulation of a strand invasion-like reaction with nucleosomal arrays. Optimal strand invasion also required the C-terminal DNA binding domain. Furthermore, the reaction was not stimulated on linear histone-free DNA. Our data suggest that nucleosomal chromatin has the ability to facilitate this activity of TRF2 which is thought to be involved in stabilizing looped telomere structures
Mean platelet volume as a predictor of pulmonary hypertension in patients with stable COPD
No full textMaha Fathy Mohamed,1 Asmaa Ali,2 Ahmad Abbas,3 Mohammad Shafiq Awad,4 Mohammad Gouda,5 Amany M Sediq61Chest Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt; 2Abbaseya Chest Hospital, MOH, Cairo, Egypt; 3Chest Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, 44519, Egypt; 4Cardiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt; 5Cardiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt; 6Clinical and Chemical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, EgyptBackground: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is one of the most common complications developed during the course of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Platelet activation plays an important role in its pathophysiology, and mean platelet volume (MPV) is considered a respectable index of platelet activation. The aim of this work is to assess the ability of MPV in predicting PH secondary to COPD as well as its severity.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 228 stable COPD patients. CBC, echocardiography, and pulmonary function tests were performed.Results: The prevalence of PH in stable COPD patients was high (63%), and the majority of patients had a mild degree (33%). There was no significant association between PH presence with different COPD grade, but, in very severe COPD, severe PH was significantly presented. MPV in COPD patients with PH was significantly higher than those without (9.02±1.14 vs 7.11±0.98, P<0.001). Moreover, a significant statistical rising of MPV with increased severity of PH. Multivariate regression analysis of predictors of PH demonstrated that; MPV is a real predictor of PH in such patients. The likelihood probability of PH increased up to 7-times with increasing one unit of MPV; (OR=6.7). A cut-off value of MPV >7.25 had 96% sensitivity and 76% specificity in predicting PH.Conclusion: MPV was higher in COPD patients with PH and positively correlated with PH severity. If the data are to be confirmed, MPV may be taken into consideration in decision-making and management of COPD patients.Keywords: COPD, mean platelet volume, pulmonary hypertensio
- …
