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Abstract Background Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an affliction impacting the quality of life of millions of people worldwide. An approach used in the management of Type 2 DM involves the use of the carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzyme inhibitor, acarbose. Although acarbose has long been the go-to drug in this key approach, it has become apparent that its side effects negatively impact patient adherence and subsequently, therapeutic outcomes. Similar to acarbose in its mechanism of action, bee propolis, a unique natural adhesive biomass consisting of biologically active metabolites, has been found to have antidiabetic potential through its inhibition of α-amylase. To minimize the need for ultimately novel agents while simultaneously aiming to decrease the side effects of acarbose and enhance its efficacy, combination drug therapy has become a promising pharmacotherapeutic strategy and a focal point of this study. Methods Computer-aided molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations accompanied by in vitro testing were used to mine novel, pharmacologically active chemical entities from Egyptian propolis to combat Type 2 DM. Glide docking was utilized for a structure-based virtual screening of the largest in-house library of Egyptian propolis metabolites gathered from literature, in addition to GC–MS analysis of the propolis sample under investigation. Thereafter, combination analysis by means of fixed-ratio combinations of acarbose with propolis and the top chosen propolis-derived phytoligand was implemented. Results Aucubin, identified for the first time in propolis worldwide and kaempferol were the most promising virtual hits. Subsequent in vitro α-amylase inhibitory assay demonstrated the ability of these hits to significantly inhibit the enzyme in a dose-dependent manner with an IC50 of 2.37 ± 0.02 mM and 4.84 ± 0.14 mM, respectively. The binary combination of acarbose with each of propolis and kaempferol displayed maximal synergy at lower effect levels. Molecular docking and MD simulations revealed a cooperative binding mode between kaempferol and acarbose within the active site. Conclusion The suggested strategy seems imperative to ensure a steady supply of new therapeutic entities sourced from Egyptian propolis to regress the development of DM. Further pharmacological in vivo investigations are required to confirm the potent antidiabetic potential of the studied combination.

Background/Objective: Limited animal and human studies have shown function, albeit inadequate, of implanted thyroid tissue in muscles. This work aimed to ascertain results in a larger number of patients, finding practical method for implantation, studying the effect of changing weight of implant and effect of passage of time on its function. Methods: Forty patients had total thyroidectomy for simple multinodular goiters. A piece of the excised gland was finely minced, mixed with saline as emulsion, and injected in thigh muscles. Twelve patients had 5-g implants, while 28 patients had 10-g implants. Four parameters were studied at 2 months, 6 months, and 12 months: technetium isotope uptake by the implant; thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH); free T3 (FT3); and free T4 (FT4). Results: All autotransplanted thyroid tissue survived and functioned. After 12 months, mean values (± standard deviation) of isotope uptake, TSH, FT3, and FT4 of the 5-g implants were 0.44 ± 0.16%, 27.74 ± 30.4 UI/mL, 3.07 ± 1.10 pg/mL, and 1.01 ± 0.3 ng/dL, repectively. Those for the 10 g implants were 0.71 ± 0.20%, 22.78 ± 19.7 UI/mL, 3.92 ± 1.2 pg/mL, and 1.05 ± 0.3 ng/dL, repectively. Ten-gram implants showed significantly higher isotope uptake than 5-g. TSH, FT3, and FT4 significantly improved over the period of 1 year. Conclusion: Injection of thyroid tissue suspension is a simple method for thyroid autotransplantation. TSH was elevated in the majority to maintain normal or near normal thyroid hormones. Ten-gram implants showed higher isotope uptake than 5-g, although this difference was not reflected by thyroid hormone profile. The implant seemed to function better with the passage of time from 2 months to 12 months.

Recent reports have shown that bromelain (BL), a pineapple extract, acts as an adjuvant therapy in cancer treatment and prevention of carcinogenesis. The present study was designed to investigate the possible mechanisms by which BL could radiosensitize tumor cells in vitro and in a mouse tumor model. BL has shown a significant reduction in the viability of the radioresistant human breast carcinoma (MCF-7) cell line using cell proliferation assay. The in vivo study was designed using the Ehrlich model in female albino mice, treated with BL (6 mg/kg b. wt., intraperitoneal, once daily for 10 days) 1 hour before exposure to a fractionated dose of gamma radiation (5 Gy, 1 Gy for 5 subsequent days). The radiosensitizing effect of BL was evident in terms of a significant reduction in tumor volume, poly ADP ribose polymerase-1 (PARP-1), the proliferation marker Ki-67 and nuclear factor kappa activated B cells (NF-κB) with a significant elevation in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content and lipid peroxidation (LPO) in tumor cells. The present findings offer a novel insight into the radiosensitizing effect of BL and its potential application in the radiotherapy course.

A physical model study was conducted for designing the intake/outfall combination to comply with the Egyptian environmental laws. Based on the dominant flow patterns, and temperature measurements, two alternatives were examined. The first alternative of outfall structure consists of surface open channel. The output of this design did not comply with the environmental laws and has negative impacts on the water quality and ecological life. It was proposed to widen the outfall with 24 nozzles (multi port diffuser) arranged in two rows and separate the outfall into many jets. This new alternative for the outfall hydraulic design succeeded to improve the mixing process and complies with the Egyptian environmental laws.

El-Salam Pump Stations (1) and (2) are located at 22.1 km and 54.3 km respectively at El-Salam Canal. When El-Salam Pump Station (1) is in operation, and switching off El-Salam Pump Station (2), water level rises upstream El-Salam Pump Station (2). Water level overtops El-Salam Pump Station (2) and banks upstream it. Flooding then takes place as Wadi El Noqra Canal, Egypt. This necessitates discharging the excess water to protect the pump station and the canal from water flooding when the electricity is shut down. The hydrodynamic simulation of El-Salam Canal determinates the critical time for storage capacity according to location and type of emergency spillways through the numerical model to prevent water overtopping upstream pump stations. Determination of the critical time of storage capacity is considered as a new parameter in case of the hydraulic design of the canal controlled by cross pump stations.

Relevance.Amonomorphic type of maculo-­papular cutaneous mastocytosis was allocated relatively recently. Inchildren and adolescents with amonomorphic type of MPCM (adult type pattern), clinical manifestations persist into adulthood and can transform into asystemic process, which determines the need for regular monitoring of this category of patients.Theaimwas to analyse the results of clinical, laboratory and instrumental examinations of an adolescent with amonomorphic type of MPCM.Materials and Methods. The study of an adolescent patient included data of laboratory examination, pathomorphological examination, ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs and cKIT gene of an adolescent with amonomorphic type of MPCM, observed at “Moscow Scientific and Practical Center of Dermatovenerology and Cosmetology”.Resultsand Discussion.The process was represented by multiple rashes on the skin of the trunk and limbs. Darier’s sign is positive. The patient’s serum tryptase level exceeded the age norm. The late onset (atthe age of 12)of the disease, elevated tryptase levels, neurological symptoms, and the risk of anaphylaxis caused alertness regarding the development of the systemic form, therefore an ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs was performed and the presence of amutation in the cKIT gene in peripheral blood was determined.Conclusion.Clinical report of an adolescent patient in Moscow Scientific and Practical Center of Dermatovenerology and Cosmetology was presented. Thus, the combination of clinical and laboratory data allows minimizing the number of invasive procedures in children with CM. Assessment of the tryptase level, mutation detection in the cKIT gene and ultrasound examination of abdominal organs can be useful for timely diagnosis of systemic mastocytosis, which allows to carry out the necessary correction of the disease status and drug therapy.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent mental condition characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors (compulsions), significantly disrupting daily functioning and social interactions. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) presents a promising non-invasive treatment modality aimed at alleviating symptoms. However, the evidence regarding its effectiveness remains inconclusive. This study seeks to address this gap by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials, offering improved guidance for clinical intervention. A comprehensive search strategy was implemented across multiple databases, including PubMed, Cochrane CENTRAL, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science. This search focused strictly on randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving 147 patients. These trials evaluated the efficacy of tDCS in OCD patients. Subsequent data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and statistical analysis using Review Manager software revealed the potential efficacy of tDCS in reducing OCD symptoms. The meta-analysis not only fails to demonstrate significant superiority of active tDCS over sham tDCS but also suggests that sham tDCS may be more effective than active tDCS in reducing OCD symptoms. This finding diminishes the promise of tDCS as an effective treatment for OCD. Larger trials are warranted to further elucidate these findings.

In this study, the role of the numerical models in the river restoration project is discussed. The government of Egypt has a national strategic plan seeking to increase the cultivated area throughout the whole country. This will result in greater water demand for the irrigation sector, which brings attention to the water streams and their existing capacity to carry the new water discharge. Within this national plan, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation intends to increase the discharge capacity of Bahr Youssef waterway from 15 million to 18 million m3/day to cope with the new development projects and the increased population density. Therefore, this work aims to provide the methodology to raise the capacity of Bahr Youssef Waterway to carry the required discharge with least cost. The SOBEK-1D numerical model was used in investigating different rehabilitation scenarios to enhance the waterway capacity to carry 18 million m3/day. The evaluation of the different alternatives considered the socioeconomic aspect as well as the technical and financial aspects. Many settlements exist on the canal bank with different activities depending on the water supplied from Bahr Yousef. The study concluded that it is possible to pass 18 million m3/day in Bahr Youssef. The model results illustrate that this could be happen by dredging only approximately 5,988,684 m3 of sedimentation in the four reaches instead of dredging the whole entire canal with a quantity of 21,150,000 m3. The model succeeded to reduce the required dredging volume by about ¾ of the total deposited material. The model results recommended to dredge only 103.1 km which is about 1/3 of the total length of the whole waterway path, which is approximately 293 km. This resulted in a reduction of the project estimated cost by approximately 72%, with the final dredging cost of approximately 239.5 million EGP for the selected areas.

This study hypothesizes that, bromelain (BL) acts as radiosensitizer of tumor cells and that it protects normal cells from radiation effects. In vitro and in vivo studies have been carried out to prove that assumption. In vitro MTT cell proliferation assay has shown that the irradiated Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell line could be sensitized by BL pretreatment. In vivo: animals were randomly divided into 5 groups, Group 1: control (PBS i.p for 10 days), Group 2: Ehrlich solid tumor (EST) bearing mice, Group 3: EST + γ-radiation (fractionated dose, 1 Gy × 5), Group 4: EST + BL (6 mg/kg, i.p), daily for 10 days, Group 5: EST + BL for 10 days followed by γ-irradiation (1 Gy × 5). The size and weight of tumors in gamma-irradiated EST bearing mice treated with BL decreased significantly with a significant amelioration in the histopathological examination. Besides, BL mitigated the effect of γ-irradiation on the liver relative gene expression of poly ADP ribose polymerase-1 (PARP1), nuclear factor kappa activated B cells (NF-κB), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPAR-α), and it restored liver function via amelioration of paraoxonase1 (PON1) activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) content, lipid peroxidation (LPO) and serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), and albumin (ALB). It is concluded that BL can be considered as a radio-sensitizer and radio-protector, suggesting a possible role in reducing radiation exposure dose during radiotherapy.

To investigate the influence of emulsifiers on broilers fed low-energy diets, the birds were distributed into three sets—the control was fed the basal diet, the second group was fed diets 50 kcal/kg less than control, and the third group was fed diets 50 kcal/kg less than control and supplemented with 500 g/ton of emulsifiers. The used mixture of exogenous emulsifiers contains phosphatidyl choline, lysophosphatidyl choline, and polyethylene glycol ricinoleate. Although the feed intake was not meaningfully affected by dietary low-energy level with emulsifier inclusion (P = 0.42), the weight gain and FCR were clearly enhanced (P = 0.005 and P = 0.044, respectively). Protein and lipids utilization were decreased by reducing energy level, but they were increased by emulsifier supplementation (P = 0.022 and P = 0.011, respectively). Liver thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs) and muscle palmitic acid concentrations were decreased by reducing the energy level and emulsifier’s supplementation (P = 0.014 and P = 0.042, respectively). However, muscle total lipids and α-tocopherol, oleic acid, linoleic acid, and α-linolenic acid were not affected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05). Interestingly, the plasma total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, total protein, and globulin were decreased in the low-energy group without emulsifier but they were increased by emulsifier supplementation (P = 0.008, P = 0.005, P = 0.037, and P = 0.005, respectively). It could be concluded that the mixture of emulsifier supplementation to low-energy diets enhanced fat utilization and resulted in positive effects on the growth performance, nutrient utilization, lipid peroxidation, and modified plasma lipid profiles in broilers. Getting such benefits in broilers is a necessity to reduce the feed cost and consequently the price of the product, which will lead to improved welfare of mankind.

The present study was conducted to examine that impact of dietary xylanase (Xyl) and arabinofuranosidase (Abf) supplementation on the performance, protein and fat digestibility, the lipid peroxidation, the plasma biochemical traits, and the immune response of broilers. A total of 480, un-sexed, and one-day-old broilers (Ross 308) were randomly divided into three treatments with eight replicates, where chicks in the first treatment were fed basal diets and served as the control, chicks in the second treatment were fed diets formulated with reductions of 90 kcal/kg, and chicks in the third treatment were fed the same formulated diets used in the second group as well as the Xyl and Abf combination (Rovabio® Advance). Feed intake was decreased by the low energy diet, leading to an enhancement in feed efficiency enzyme supplementation in the low energy diet (p < 0.015). Both protein and fat digestibility were improved (p < 0.047) due to enzyme supplementation. Moreover, enzyme supplementation increased muscle total lipids content and decreased muscle thiobarbituric acid retroactive substance content. Furthermore, diets supplemented with Xyl and Abf exhibited an increase in antibody titers against the Newcastle disease virus (p < 0.026). In addition, enzyme supplementation increased gene expression related to growth and gene expression related to fatty acid synthesis. It could be concluded that dietary Xyl and Abf supplementation had beneficial impacts on growth, nutrient digestibility, lipid peroxidation, immune response, and gene expressions related to growth and fatty acid synthesis in broiler chickens fed low-energy diets.

Radiotherapy is one of the standard cytotoxic therapies for cancer. However, it has a profound impact on ovarian function leading to premature ovarian failure and infertility. Since none of the currently available methods for fertility preservation guarantees future fertility, the need for an effective radioprotective agent is highly intensified. The present study investigated the mechanisms of the potential radioprotective effect of growth hormone (GH) on γ irradiation-induced ovarian failure and the impact of the insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in the underlying protection. Immature female Sprague-Dawley rats were either exposed to single whole body irradiation (3.2 Gy) and/or treated with GH (1 mg/kg s.c). Experimental γ-irradiation produced an array of ovarian dysfunction that was evident by assessment of hormonal changes, follicular development, proliferation marker (PCNA), oxidative stress as well as apoptotic markers. In addition, IGF-1/IGF-1R axis expression was assessed using real-time PCR and immunolocalization techniques. Furthermore, after full maturity, fertility assessment was performed. GH significantly enhanced follicular development and restored anti-Mullerian hormone serum level as compared with the irradiated group. In addition, GH significantly ameliorated the deleterious effects of irradiation on oxidative status, PCNA and apoptosis. Interestingly, GH was shown to enhance the ovarian IGF-1 at transcription and translation levels, a property that contributes significantly to its radioprotective effect. Finally, GH regained the fertility that was lost following irradiation. In conclusion, GH showed a radioprotective effect and rescued the ovarian reserve through increasing local IGF-1 level and counteracting the oxidative stress-mediated apoptosis.

Radiotherapy is a major factor contributing to female infertility by inducing premature ovarian failure (POF). Therefore, the need for an effective radioprotective agent is evident. The present study investigated the mechanism of potential radioprotective effect of sodium selenite on radiation-induced ovarian failure and whether sodium selenite can stimulate in-vivo follicular development in experimental rats. Immature female Sprague-Dawely rats were either exposed to gamma-radiation (3.2 Gy, LD(20)), once and/or treated with sodium selenite (0.5 mg/kg), once daily for one week before irradiation. Follicular and oocyte development, apoptotic markers, proliferation marker as well as oxidative stress markers were assessed 24-h after irradiation. In addition, fertility assessment was performed after female rats became completely mature at two months of age. Sodium selenite significantly enhanced follicular development as compared to the irradiated group. Sodium selenite significantly reversed the oxidative stress effects of radiation that was evidenced by increasing in lipid peroxide level and decreasing in glutathione level, and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity. Assessment of apoptosis and cell proliferation markers revealed that caspase 3 and cytochrome c expressions markedly-increased, whereas, PCNA expression markedly-decreased in the irradiated group; in contrast, sodium selenite treatment prevented these alterations. Histopathological examination further confirmed the radioprotective efficacy of sodium selenite and its in-vivo effect on ovarian follicles' maturation. In conclusion, sodium selenite showed a radioprotective effect and improved folliculogenesis through increasing ovarian granulosa cells proliferation, estradiol and FSH secretion, and GPx activity, whilst decreasing lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress, leading to inhibition of the apoptosis pathway through decreasing the expressions of caspase 3 and cytochrome c.