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In the present article, the generalized thermoelastic wave model with and without energy dissipation under fractional time derivative is used to study the physical field in porous two-dimensional media. By applying the Fourier-Laplace transforms and eigenvalues scheme, the physical quantities are presented analytically. The surface is shocked by heating (pulsed heat flow problem) and application of free traction on its outer surface (mechanical conditions) by the process of temperature transport (diffusion) to observe the full analytical solutions of the main physical fields. The magnesium (Mg) material is used to make the simulations and obtain numerical outcomes. The basic physical field quantities are graphed and discussed. Comparisons are made in the results obtained under the strong (SC), the weak (WC) and the normal (NC) conductivities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study purpose was to investigate the effect of Phaseolus Vulgaris (PV) on urinary biochemical parameters among patients with kidney stones. We conducted a randomized controlled study among 60 patients with kidney stones (size < 10 mm) in the nephrology unit of both government and private hospitals, Al-Ahsa. Urinary volume, calcium, magnesium, potassium, oxalate, uric acid, and power of hydrogen (pH) were assessed before and after the intervention of giving 250 g of PV consumption as an extract thrice weekly (2.2 L to 2.5 L per week) for 6 weeks, which was compared with control. A 't' test was used with the significance at 5%. Mean score of age was 44.5 ± 10.16 in PV group and 43.73 ± 9.79 in control. Four (13.3%) and two (6.7%) had family history of kidney stones. Body mass Index (BMI) mean was 26.44 ± 2.7 and 26.36 ± 2.65 in pre and post-test, respectively, which were significant (p = 0.01017). There were significant changes (p = 0.000) in urine volume from 1962 ± 152.8 to 2005 ± 148.8, calcium 205.4 ± 11.99 to 198.4 ± 12.52, potassium 44.07 ± 3.66 to 52.15 ± 4.37, oxalate 37.12 ± 5.38 to 33.02 ± 5.71, and uric acid 6.88 ± 0.7 to 6.31 ± 0.58. In conclusion, PV is effective management for the patients with kidney stones as it increases the urinary volume and enhances the elimination of small kidney stones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the new model of photothermal and elastic waves, with and without energy dissipation, under a hyperbolic two-temperature model, is used to compute the displacement, carrier density, thermodynamic temperature, conductive temperature and stress in a semiconductor medium. The medium is considered in the presence of the coupling of plasma and thermoelastic waves. To get the complete analytical expressions of the main physical fields, Laplace transforms and the eigenvalue scheme are used. The outcomes are presented graphically to display the differences between the classical two-temperature theory and the new hyperbolic two-temperature theory, with and without energy dissipation. Based on the numerical results, the hyperbolic two-temperature thermoelastic theory offers a finite speed of mechanical waves and propagation of thermal waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work is aimed at studying the effect of fractional order and thermal relaxation time on an unbounded fiber-reinforced medium. In the context of generalized thermoelasticity theory, the fractional time derivative and the thermal relaxation times are employed to study the thermophysical quantities. The techniques of Fourier and Laplace transformations are used to present the problem exact solutions in the transformed domain by the eigenvalue approach. The inversions of the Fourier-Laplace transforms hold analytical and numerically. The numerical outcomes for the fiber-reinforced material are presented and graphically depicted. A comparison of the results for different theories under the fractional time derivative is presented. The properties of the fiber-reinforced material with the fractional derivative act to reduce the magnitudes of the variables considered, which can be significant in some practical applications and can be easily considered and accurately evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to propose the analytical method associated with Laplace transforms and experimental verification to estimate thermal damages and temperature due to laser irradiation by utilizing measurement information of skin surface. The thermal damages to the tissues are totally estimated by denatured protein ranges using the formulations of Arrhenius. By using Laplace transformations, the exact solution of all physical variables is obtained. Numerical results for the temperature and thermal damage are presented graphically. Furthermore, the comparisons between the numerical calculations with experimental verification show that the three-phase lag bioheat mathematical model is an efficient tool for estimating the bioheat transfer in skin tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is devoted to the investigation of a two-dimensional porous material under weak, strong and normal conductivity, using the eigenvalues method. By using Laplace–Fourier transformations with the eigenvalues technique, the variables are analytically obtained. The derived technique is assessed with numerical results that are obtained from the porous mediums using simplified symmetric geometry. The results, including the displacements, temperature, stresses and the change in the volume fraction field, are offered graphically. Comparisons are made among the outcomes obtained under weak, normal and strong conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights the study of photo-thermoelastic interaction in an unbounded semiconductor medium containing a spherical cavity. This problem is solved using the new hyperbolic two-temperature model. The bounding surface of the cavity is traction free and loaded thermally by exponentially decaying pulse boundary heat flux. In addition, the carrier density is prescribed on the inner surface of the cavity in terms of the recombination speed. The techniques of Laplace transforms are used to get the analytical solutions of the problem in the transformed domain by the eigenvalues method. The inversions of Laplace transformations have been carried out numerically. The outcomes also display that the analytical schemes can overcome the mathematical problem to analyze this problem. Numerical outcomes for a semiconductor material are performed and demonstrated graphically. According to the numerical results, this new hyperbolic two-temperature model of thermoelasticity offers finite speed of the thermal wave and mechanical wave propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work uses the "fractional order bio-heat model" (Fob) model of heat conduction to offer a new interpretation to study the thermal damages in a skin tissue caused by laser irradiation. The influences of fractional order and the thermal relaxation time parameters on the temperature of skin tissue and the resulting thermal damage are studied. In the Laplace domain, the analytical solutions of temperature are obtained. Using the equation of Arrhenius, the resulting thermal injury to the tissues is assessed by the denatured protein ranges. The numerical results of the thermal damages and temperature are presented graphically. A parametric analysis is dedicated to the identifications of suitable procedures for the selection of significant design variables to achieve an effective thermal in the therapy of hyperthermia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to provide a method to investigate the effects of thermal relaxation times in a poroelastic material by using the finite element method. The formulations are applied under the Green and Lindsay model, with four thermal relaxation times. Due to the complex governing equation, the finite element method has been used to solve these problems. All physical quantities are presented as symmetric and asymmetric tensors. The effects of thermal relaxation times and porosity in a poro-thermoelastic medium are studied. Numerical computations for temperatures, displacements and stresses for the liquid and the solid are presented graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the mixed initial boundary value problem in the context of a thermoelastic porous body having a dipolar structure. We intend to analyze the rate of decay of solutions to this problem to ensure that in a finite time, they become null. In our main result, we find that the combined contribution of the dipolar constitution of the body together with voids dissipation and thermal behavior cannot cause vanishing of the deformations in a finite time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Photo-thermo-elastic interactions in a 2D semiconductor medium is presented. • The coupled theory of plasma and thermo-elastic waves without energy dissipation is established. • The analytical solutions are obtained by using eigenvalues approach. • Numerical results for silicon-like semiconductor material are presented. The photo-thermo-elastic analysis problem of a half space without energy dissipation are obtained in the context of Green–Naghdi's (GNII) theory. Closed-form analytical solutions to obtain the physical quantities subjected to a heat flux using the pulse that decays exponentially in the surface of semiconductor half-space are presented. Through the use of Laplace and Fourier transforms with the methodology of eigenvalues techniques, the analytical solutions of all variables are presented. The derived method is evaluated with numerical results which are applied to the semiconductor medium in simplified geometry. Suitable discussions and conclusions are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The model of coupled plasma and thermo-elastic wave were used to investigate the wave propagation in a two-dimensional semiconducting half space by using eigenvalues approach. By using Fourier and Laplace transformations with the eigenvalues techniques methodology, the exact solution of all physical quantities is obtained. The boundary edge of the plane is due to a heat flux with a pulse that decays exponentially and is taken as free of tractions. A semiconductor media such as silicon has been studied. The outcomes have been verified numerically and are represented graphically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is devoted to the investigation of fractional order photo-thermo-elastic waves in a two-dimensional semiconductor using the eigenvalues approach. The formulations applied are based on the fractional order generalized thermo-elasticity in the context of the new model of heat conduction. The bounding surface of the plate is taken to be stress-free and exposed to a heat flux with the exponentially decaying pulse. By using Laplace’s and Fourier’s transformations and the eigenvalues approach methodology, the analytical solutions of variables have been obtained. A semiconducting material, such as silicon, has been investigated. In the conclusion, the results are graphically represented to show the effects of the thermal relaxation time and the fractional order parameters on the thermal, plasma and elastic waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease that affects a wide range of animals, including small ruminants. Sheep and goats are considered as biological indicators for the contamination of the environment with Toxoplasma gondii oocysts. In addition, in countries such as Egypt, where sheep and goat meat is frequently consumed, T. gondii infection in small ruminants may also pose a public health risk. To establish baseline estimates of the prevalence of T. gondii infection in Egyptian small ruminants, we used an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to assess the seroprevalence in 398 sheep from four Egyptian governorates (Cairo, Giza, Dakahlia and Sharkia) and in 100 goats from Dakahlia. The positive and negative agreements of both tests were calculated and the true prevalence was estimated using a Bayesian approach. Results: The true prevalence of antibodies to T. gondii as determined by both tests was higher in Egyptian goats (62%) than in sheep for each province (between 4.1 and 26%). Sheep slaughtered at the Cairo abattoir had the lowest true prevalence (4.1%), while true prevalences in Dakahlia, Giza and Sharkia governorates (26%, 23% and 12%, respectively) were substantially higher. Conclusions: The high prevalence of antibodies to T. gondii may indicate an important role of goat and sheep in the transmission of human toxoplasmosis in Egypt, given the habit of eating undercooked grilled mutton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems (SNEDDS) have been widely applied to improve the dissolution and bioavailability of hydrophobic medications like glibenclamide (GB). However, the acid liability of GB limits its loading in SNEDDS formulation owing to the expected drug degradation. The present study investigated the ability of a polymeric amorphous system (PAS) to amorphize raw GB and facilitate its integration within dispersed SNEDDS. Liquid-SNEDDS (L-SNEDDS), solid-SNEDDS (S-SNEDDS), and combined systems (SNEDDS + PAS) were prepared for this purpose. The physicochemical properties of the prepared formulations were examined using a zeta-sizer, SEM, DSC, PXRD, and dissolution apparatus. In addition, GB integrity within formulations following incubation in a stability chamber was also investigated. The prepared formulations were able to be dispersed within the nanosize range. SEM, DSC, and PXRD showed that freeze-drying (FD) was superior to the microwave (MW) method in GB amorphization. Even though L-SNEDDS and S-SNEDDS were able to increase the dissolution efficiency (DE) of GB, drug degradation was observed. However, PAS prepared using FD was able to increase the DE of GB from 2.5% to 84.2% and protect the drug from chemical degradation. The present study revealed that a combined system (SNEDDS + PAS) is a promising approach to enhance the stability of acid-labile drugs and facilitate the integration of amorphous drugs within a dispersed SNEDDS formulation., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Despite being endemic in Iraq, no reports have been published in the past 10 years to update the molecular epidemiology of the Old World screwworm fly (OWSF), Chrysomya bezziana, in this country. In the present study, 130 sheep from 10 Iraqi governorates were found infected with C. bezziana larvae, whose identities were PCR-confirmed based on the cytochrome b (Cytb) gene, and 23 isolates from various tested governorates were successfully sequenced. Although most isolates (n = 20) belonged to the common haplotype circulating in Iraq, two new haplotypes were detected. Significant changes in OWSF epidemiology in Iraq were also suggested, since infestations were detected, for the first time, in Nineveh governorate. Isolates of the present study were combined to those previously published from Iraq and worldwide, collected after searching the GenBank, and various genetic and population structure analyses were conducted. These isolates displayed a great statistically significant value when tested for the purifying (negative) selection, suggesting the limited occurrence of genetic variations, which was evidenced by the high sequence conservation (C = 0.937) value detected. A few isolates from Africa were revealed during our search, and clustered in a separate lineage other than that of the Asian isolates. The latter displayed different genetic variation patterns when compared. For example, isolates from geographically separate regions, e.g., the Gulf Arab countries and South-Eastern Asia had marked genetic differences. On the other hand, isolates from regions with close geographic proximity (the Gulf Arab countries and Iran) had limited genetic subdivision. This is not the case when comparing isolates from 10 islands in the Indonesian Archipelago. Populations from Sumatra and Sumba were isolated and displayed high genetic variations toward the other populations. On the contrary, populations from Sulawesi, Lombok and Sumbawa displayed limited genetic variations. This is particularly important, since it can help detecting the dynamics of establishing the sterile insect technique over various regions as an effective control strategy against the OWSFs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective. The intend of the present study was to assess the diagnostic performance of strain elastography in investigating the thyroid nodule malignancy taking the surgical biopsy as a gold standard reference test. Methods. The study included 120 patients with 123 thyroid nodules, of which 67 had total thyroidectomy. The American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data Systems (ACR-TIRADS) were evaluated for all nodules. All suspicious nodules were referred for a fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) if they fulfilled the required size. Strain elastography was performed for each suspicious nodule. Ultrasound-guided FNAC was performed for all suspicious nodules. Total thyroidectomy was performed in those whom the suspicious nodules were proven by FNAC. Results. Strain ratio had a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and diagnostic accuracy of 84%, 81%, 95%, 85%, and 84%, respectively, with a cut point 1.96. Elasticity score had a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and diagnostic accuracy of 100%, 80%, 95%, 85% and 87%, respectively, with a cut point 0.96. The elasticity score had a statistically significantly odds ratio for detecting the benignity 3.9 C. I (1.6-9.3). Conclusion. Strain elastography has a high diagnostic performance in detecting the malignant as well as benign nodules, thus it can limit the rate of unneeded FNAC or surgery especially among B3 and B4 groups with indeterminate cytology., (© 2024 Sarah Abd Elmageed Mahmoud et al., published by Sciendo.)

This article aims to provide theoretical predictions for the thermal reactions of human tissues during tumor thermotherapy when exposed to laser irradiation and an external heat source. For the construction of a theoretical study of bioheat transfer, the selection of a suitable thermal model capable of accurately predicting the required thermal responses is essential. The effect of heat production by heat treatment on a spherical multilayer tumor tissue is evaluated using this approach. Analytical solution for the non-homogenous differential equations is derived in the Laplace domain. The study examines the impact of thermal relaxation time on tissue temperature and the subsequent thermal damage. The numerical findings of thermal damage and temperatures are depicted in a graphical representation. This model explains laser treatment, physical events, metabolic support, and blood perfusion. The numerical outcomes of the recommended model are validated by comparing them to the literatures., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

A few reports have been published and documented low level of awareness on toxoplasmosis among Saudi women. Herein, a cross sectional community based study was undertaken to evaluate basic knowledge on toxoplasmosis among residents in the Eastern province (Sharqiyah). Thisstudy was conducted between December 2022 and January 2023 on 334 females from different ages and educational backgrounds. Analysis of their responses revealed that only (24.9%) had heard about the disease. However, (69.8%) properly identified cats as the source of Toxoplasma gondii ( T. gondii) , but a smaller percentage (47.7%) knew that they might become infected through handling cat feces, and a few (26.3%) believed that bad hand hygiene can result in T. gondii infection. A few males ( n  = 26) have also participated, for the first time in Saudi Arabia, and displayed also low level of knowledge on toxoplasmosis. We do recommend establishing educational programs for females, in various Saudi provinces, to raise awareness on toxoplasmosis.

Objectives: The primary objective of the current study is to assess which is better for obtaining the proper femoral rotation during IMN of femoral fractures, the radiological or clinical method. The secondary objectives were to document malrotation's incidence and its effect on the hip and knee functional outcomes., Methods: Thirty-three patients with unilateral femoral shaft fractures were treated using intramedullary nails (IMN) on a usual radiolucent operative table. Intraoperative rotation adjustment was performed using a radiological method (relying on the contralateral lesser trochanter profile) in 16 patients (group A), while in 17 patients, a clinical method was used (group B). Postoperative assessment of malrotation was performed using a CT scan, and 15 degrees was the cutoff value where below is an acceptable rotation (group I) and above is true malrotation (group II). Functional assessment was performed using the Harris hip score (HHS), the Tegner Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale (TLKSS), and the Neer score., Results: The patients' mean age was 30.7 ± 9.3 years; 81.8% were males, and the left side was injured in 63.6% of patients. After a mean follow up of 18.2 ± 6.9 months, all fractures were united, and the overall mean amount of rotational difference between the fractured and the contralateral side was 14.7° ± 6.0 (3-29.4), 84.8% were in external rotation. No difference in the mean rotational deformity in group A compared to group B. Measurements were 13.9 ± 6.7 and 15.7 ± 5.5, respectively (p = 0.47). Seventeen (51.5%) patients in group I with a mean deformity of 9.8 ± 3.4 (3-14.7), while group II consisted of 16 (48.5%) patients with a mean deformity of 19.6 ± 3.7 (15.3-29.4). There was no difference in the functional scores between group I and group II; HHS was 89.4 ± 7.4 versus 87.7 ± 8.9 (p = 0.54), TLKSS was 84.6 ± 9.6 versus 80.4 ± 13.9 (p = 0.32), and Neer score was 87.9 ± 9.5 versus 83 ± 12.5 (p = 0.21) for group I and group II, respectively., Conclusion: There was no difference in malrotation incidence after unilateral femoral fractures IMN with either an intraoperative clinical or radiological method for rotational adjustment; furthermore, malrotation did not affect the functional outcomes., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Cattle can be severely infected with the tick-borne protozoa Babesia bovis , giving rise to serious economic losses. Invasion of the host's RBCs by the parasite merozoite/sporozoites depends largely on the MSA (merozoite surface antigens) gene family, which comprises various fragments, e.g., MSA-1, MSA-2a1, MSA-2a2, MSA-2b and MSA-2c, highlighting the importance of these antigens as vaccine candidates. However, experimental trials documented the failure of some developed MSA-based vaccines to fully protect animals from B. bovis infection. One reason for this failure may be related to the genetic structure of the parasite. In the present study, all MSA-sequenced B. bovis isolates on the GenBank were collected and subjected to various analyses to evaluate their genetic diversity and population structure. The analyses were conducted on 199 MSA-1, 24 MSA-2a1, 193 MSA-2b and 148 MSA-2c isolates from geographically diverse regions. All these fragments displayed high nucleotide and haplotype diversities, but the MSA-1 was the most hypervariable and had the lowest inter- and intra-population gene flow values. This fragment also displayed a strong positive selection when testing its isolates for the natural selection, which suggests the potential occurrence of more genetic variations. On the contrary, the MSA-2c was the most conserved in comparison to the other fragments, and displayed the highest inter- and intra-population gene flow values, which was evidenced by a significantly negative selection and negative neutrality indices (Fu's Fs and Tajima's D). The majority of the MSA-2c tested isolates had two conserved amino acid repeats, and earlier reports have found these repeats to be highly immunogenic, which underlines the importance of this fragment in developing vaccines against B. bovis . Results of the MSA-2a1 analyses were also promising, but many more MSA-2a1 sequenced isolates are required to validating this assumption. The genetic analyses conducted for the MSA-2b fragment displayed borderline values when compared to the other fragments.

Continuous release of image databases with fully or partially identical inner categories dramatically deteriorates the production of autonomous Computer-Aided Diagnostics (CAD) systems for true comprehensive medical diagnostics. The first challenge is the frequent massive bulk release of medical image databases, which often suffer from two common drawbacks: image duplication and corruption. The many subsequent releases of the same data with the same classes or categories come with no clear evidence of success in the concatenation of those identical classes among image databases. This issue stands as a stumbling block in the path of hypothesis-based experiments for the production of a single learning model that can successfully classify all of them correctly. Removing redundant data, enhancing performance, and optimizing energy resources are among the most challenging aspects. In this article, we propose a global data aggregation scale model that incorporates six image databases selected from specific global resources. The proposed valid learner is based on training all the unique patterns within any given data release, thereby creating a unique dataset hypothetically. The Hash MD5 algorithm (MD5) generates a unique hash value for each image, making it suitable for duplication removal. The T-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE), with a tunable perplexity parameter, can represent data dimensions. Both the Hash MD5 and t-SNE algorithms are applied recursively, producing a balanced and uniform database containing equal samples per category: normal, pneumonia, and Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19). We evaluated the performance of all proposed data and the new automated version using the Inception V3 pre-trained model with various evaluation metrics. The performance outcome of the proposed scale model showed more respectable results than traditional data aggregation, achieving a high accuracy of 98.48%, along with high precision, recall, and F1-score. The results have been proved through a statistical t-test, yielding t-values and p-values. It's important to emphasize that all t-values are undeniably significant, and the p-values provide irrefutable evidence against the null hypothesis. Furthermore, it's noteworthy that the Final dataset outperformed all other datasets across all metric values when diagnosing various lung infections with the same factors., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Purpose: In recent years, there has been a significant shift from this destructive procedure to a reconstructive procedure such as anterior lamellar recession (ALR) and bilamellar tarsal rotation (BLTR). The aim is to report the outcomes and success rates of ALR compared to BLTR in patients with upper lid cicatricial trichiasis., Materials and Methods: Our study is a prospective, interventional, comparative study that was conducted at the Ophthalmology Department of Al-Azhar University Hospital, New Damietta, Egypt. Our study was conducted on 62 eyes of 45 consecutive patients suffering from upper lid cicatricial trichiasis that required surgical intervention (17 patients were bilateral and 28 were unilateral). Thirty-three of them were treated by ALR (group 1), and 29 of them by BLTR (group 2). All statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS version 26., Results: As regards the immediate postoperative correction, we found that adequate correction was significantly higher in the ALR group at all follow-up periods ( P < 0.05). However, the overcorrection and undercorrection were significantly higher in the BLTR group ( P < 0.05). Compared to the ALR group, the BLTR group saw a greater undercorrection at 1, 3, and 6 months (9.3%% vs. 0%; P = 0.048, 18.6% vs. 1.8%%; P = 0.009, 18.6%% vs. 1.8%; P = 0.009, 18.6%% vs. 1.8%; P = 0.009, respectively)., Conclusion: ALR is better than BLTR in the treatment of upper lid cicatricial trichiasis., Competing Interests: The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interests of this paper., (Copyright: © 2023 Taiwan J Ophthalmol.)

Background: Buffaloes are important contributors to the livestock economy in many countries, particularly in Asia, and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) commonly infect buffaloes, giving rise to serious pathologies other than their zoonotic potential., Methods: The present investigation focuses on the prevalence of TBPs infecting buffaloes worldwide. All published global data on TBPs in buffaloes were collected from different databases (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar) and subjected to various meta-analyses using OpenMeta[Analyst] software, and all analyses were conducted based on a 95% confidence interval., Results: Over 100 articles discussing the prevalence and species diversity of TBPs in buffaloes were retrieved. Most of these reports focused on water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), whereas a few reports on TBPs in African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) had been published. The pooled global prevalence of the apicomplexan parasites Babesia and Theileria, as well as the bacterial pathogens Anaplasma, Coxiella burnetii, Borrelia, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia in addition to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, were all evaluated based on the detection methods and 95% confidence intervals. Interestingly, no Rickettsia spp. were detected in buffaloes with scarce data. TBPs of buffaloes displayed a fairly high species diversity, which underlines the high infection risk to other animals, especially cattle. Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, B. orientalis, B. occultans and B. naoakii, Theileria annulata, T. orientalis complex (orientalis/sergenti/buffeli), T. parva, T. mutans, T. sinensis, T. velifera, T. lestoquardi-like, T. taurotragi, T. sp. (buffalo) and T. ovis, and Anaplasma marginale, A. centrale, A. platys, A. platys-like and "Candidatus Anaplasma boleense" were all were identified from naturally infected buffaloes., Conclusions: Several important aspects were highlighted for the status of TBPs, which have serious economic implications for the buffalo as well as cattle industries, particularly in Asian and African countries, which should aid in the development and implementation of prevention and control methods for veterinary care practitioners, and animal owners., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Since the last survey on gastrointestinal (GIT) parasites infecting dogs in Dakahlia governorate, Egypt, was published 40 years ago, the present study detected various GIT parasites in feces of 78 stray dogs in this governorate. Twenty-one dogs (35.9%) had eggs/oocysts of eight different parasites including Toxocara canis (19.2%), Toxascaris leonina (2.6%), hookworms (1.3%), Taenia species (5.1%), Dipylidium caninum (2.6%), Cystoisospora canis (5.1%), Cystoisospora ohioensis (2.6%), and Neospora caninum -like oocysts (1.3%). These results were combined in various meta-analyses with findings of all published surveys on GIT parasites of dogs in Egypt to underline the potential parasitic zoonoses from dogs in the country. Feces and/or gastrointestinal tracts of 19,807 dogs from various Egyptian governorates, but particularly Cairo, have been microscopically tested in 182 datasets published between 1938 and 2022, revealed during our systematic database search. Toxocara canis , interestingly, displayed a twofold higher pooled prevalence (24.7%) when compared to the published global pooled prevalence for T. canis , indicating that dogs represent a major risk for toxocariasis in humans from Egypt. Dipylidium caninum (25.4%) as well as various Taenia species (17.1%) also displayed high pooled prevalences. On the contrary, lower pooled prevalence was estimated for the most important zoonotic taeniid " Echinococcus granulosus " (2.4%) as well as for hookworms (1.8%) in comparison to what has been published from other countries in the region. Relatively high prevalences were estimated for three protozoa detected in dogs and are common to infect children in Egypt; Cryptosporidium (5.5%), Giardia (7.4%), and Entamoeba histolytica (9.8%). In general, the pooled prevalence estimated for various parasites detected in dogs from Egypt has decreased in the recent years, sometimes by as much as one-fifth, but this great decline is statistically insignificant, which should alert the veterinary and public health authorities to continue their efforts for controlling these parasites in a "One Health" approach.

Background: Several gastrointestinal parasites that infect cats pose potential health threats for humans and animals. The present study is the first to report gastrointestinal (GIT) parasites in feces of stray cats from Gharbia governorate, Egypt. Findings were combined with those published in the earlier surveys from various Egyptian governorates, and various meta-analyses were conducted to underline the parasitic zoonoses from cats in Egypt., Results: Out of 143 samples tested in Gharbia, 75 (52.4%) were found infected with 13 different parasites. Co-infections were observed in 49.3% of positives. Several parasites were detected, e.g., Toxocara cati (30.0%), Toxascaris leonina (22.4%), hookworms (8.4%), taeniids (4.2%), Strongyloides spp. (2.1%), Physaloptera spp. (2.1%), Alaria spp. (1.4%) and Dipylidium caninum (0.7%). Opisthorchis-like eggs were found in a single sample being the first report from cats in Africa. Oocysts of 4 coccidian parasites were identified, and a few Toxoplasma gondii-like oocysts were detected in 2 samples (1.4%). Results of the meta-analysis illustrated that occurrence of T. gondii oocysts in feces of cats from Egypt may have been overestimated in earlier studies; 1432 cats have been tested and displayed a 5 times higher pooled prevalence (11.9%) than the published global pooled prevalence for T. gondii oocysts in cats. This overestimation might have occurred because some small-sized oocysts that belong to other coccidian parasites were mis-identified as T. gondii. Toxocara cati had a high pooled prevalence (22.5%) in cats from Egypt, which is even greater than the published pooled prevalence in cats globally; however, several reports from Egypt have neglected the role of T. cati in human toxocarosis. Dipylidium caninum displayed also a high prevalence (26.7%)., Conclusion: Several zoonotic parasite species have been found in stray cats from Egypt, raising concerns about the risks to the Egyptian human population as well as environmental contamination. Prompt surveillance supervised by the government and accompanied by data dissemination will be helpful for developing effective control strategies., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Socially assistive robots (SAR) have the potential to impact therapies for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by supporting clinicians in increasing learning opportunities presented to individuals. Recent research on robot-mediated intervention (RMI) delivery has predominantly addressed social deficits in ASD with positive outcomes. Current literature has minimal focus on teaching children with ASD a skill not known apriori by the individual. Furthermore, it is unclear how to integrate robots in clinical settings because current RMIs do not adhere to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) protocols. In this work, we investigated whether an RMI could be utilized to teach children with ASD a completely new language and communication skill they could not exhibit at baseline. We utilized a standard ABA assessment tool to first identify appropriate skills to teach children with ASD. We then developed, implemented, and evaluated an RMI intervention that followed standard clinical operating procedures in ABA and targets participants' unique skill deficits. We examined the effects of the RMI training on teaching wh-question answering. All sessions were conducted with the SAR as the primary therapist using evidenced-based ABA human teaching protocols. All participants acquired the wh-questions answering skill within seven sessions, which is in line with their typical acquisition rates.

In the present study, all published data on the epidemiology and molecular characters of Taenia multiceps were systematically collected from relevant databases (e.g. PubMed, Scopus, National Center for Biotechnology Information), and combined in various statistical and genetic analyses as a contribution to a better understanding of the epidemiology of this ubiquitous taeniid worldwide. While 5.8% of the key hosts (dogs) from various countries had T. multiceps , grey wolves displayed the highest prevalence (21.6%) among the definitive hosts. Small ruminants are the main intermediate hosts and carry the coenuri in various locations, but most commonly in the central nervous system (CNS). Cerebral coenuri were confirmed in 53% of sheep exhibiting neurological symptoms, and infected animals often had only a single coenurus in the brain. Sheep had a higher prevalence (8.8%) of CNS coenuri than goats (5.8%); however, extra-CNS coenuri were detected more frequently in goats than in sheep. In either case, the difference between sheep and goats was statistically insignificant. Analysis of 233 partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I nucleotide sections for T. multiceps revealed high haplotype and low nucleotide diversities. Fifty-one haplotypes were detected circulating in 6 geographic populations. China, Iran and Turkey had 2 major haplotypes, whereas Italy and Egypt shared 3. Haplotypes from Greece circulate worldwide, and displayed similar gene flow values when compared with the other populations. There were no distinct patterns for haplotype distribution in relation to the infected hosts or coenuri locations. The existence of genetic variants in T. multiceps was highlighted, but needs further studies.

Trichostrongylid nematodes can cause serious loss in the livestock economy; nevertheless, infections with these ubiquitous nematodes in animals from developing countries are largely neglected. The present paper provides a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the status of trichostrongyle infections in domestic ruminants from Egypt. Out of 626 collected publications, 118 were defined suitable for inclusion in this review and represented trichostrongyle infections in 5 ruminant species (sheep, goats, cattle, buffaloes and camels) from Egypt. Published surveys have mostly focused on sheep, which had the highest (44.8%) pooled prevalence of trichostrongyle infections based on 95% confidence interval (35.9-53.6%) with no significant variations among sheep in different Egyptian regions. Goats had lower infection prevalence (31.2%, 21.5-40.8%) in comparison to sheep, and no significant regional differences were also found. The management and marketing practices likely account for the wide distribution of infection among small ruminants across Egypt. Variable trichostrongyle infection rates were estimated for camels (38.8%, 28.9-48.7%), cattle (27.4%, 14.4-40.3%) and buffaloes (12.2%, 8.0-16.4%). The prevalence of infection was significantly high during winter (52.1%, 32.2-72.1%), which provide favorable conditions for development and survival of larvae on pastures. The most common trichostrongyle identified in infected animals was Haemonchus contortus. The parasite was detected in 38.8% (29.9-47.6%) of infected sheep, 35.3% (24.8-45.7%) of infected goats and in 40.6% (18.6-62.5%) of infected camels. Clinical infections have been reported in a limited number of studies. Analysis of fecal egg counts (FECs) revealed that more than half (52.7%, 30.4-75.0%) of the tested sheep had low counts (<500 eggs per gram EPG), whereas only a few sheep (6.1%, 3.5-8.7%) had high counts >2000 EPG, implying that subclinical infections are common; however, the clinical infections cannot be completely ruled out. Anthelmintic resistance does not appear to be serious in trichostrongyle populations infecting ruminants from Egypt; nonetheless there have been a few cases of albendazole resistance in trichostrongyles infecting sheep. This paper contributes to a better understanding of the epidemiology and economic implications of trichostrongyle infections in ruminants from Egypt, which is crucial for establishing effective control strategies against these ubiquitous nematodes., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TTBPs) are listed among the most serious concerns harming Egyptian livestock's productivity. Several reports on tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) from various geographical regions in the country were published. However, data on the molecular characterization of TBPs are the most beneficial for understanding the epidemiology of this important group of pathogens. In this study, we present the first meta-analysis on the molecular epidemiology and species diversity of TBPs infecting animals in Egypt. All published studies on TBPs were systematically collected from various databases (PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, the Egyptian Knowledge Bank, and Google Scholar). Data from eligible papers were extracted and subjected to various analyses. Seventy-eight studies were found to be eligible for inclusion. Furthermore, ticks infesting animals that were molecularly screened for their associated pathogens were also included in this study to display high species diversity and underline the high infection risk to animals. Theileria annulata was used as parasite model of TBPs to study the genetic diversity and transmission dynamics across different governorates of Egypt. This study extends cross-comparisons between all published molecular data on TBPs in Egypt and provides resources from Egyptian data in order to better understand parasite epidemiology, species diversity, and disease outcome as well as the development and implementation of prevention and control methods for public health, veterinary care practitioners, and animal owners all over the country.

Buffaloes represent an important economic resource for several regions of the world including Romania. In the present study, we examined 104 faecal samples collected from 38 buffalo calves (2-11 weeks old) from household rearing systems in Romania for gastrointestinal parasites. All samples were tested using the saturated salt flotation, McMaster and modified Ziehl-Nielsen staining methods. PCR coupled with sequencing isolates were used to identify assemblages of Giardia lamblia (Kunstler, 1882) and species of Cryptosporidium Tyzzer, 1907. Overall, 33 out of 38 examined buffalo calves were infected with different gastrointestinal parasites: 16 had single infections and 17 had mixed infections with two or three parasites. Species of Eimeria Schneider, 1875 (32/38; 84%) were the most prevalent parasites; eight species were identified according to the oocyst morphology, including the pathogenic E. bareillyi (Gill, Chhabra et Lall, 1963) which was detected for the first time in buffaloes from Romania. The nematodes Toxocara vitulorum (Goeze, 1782) (11/38; 37%) and Strongyloides papillosus (Wedl, 1856) (6/38; 16%) were also detected. Cryptosporidium spp. were found in four (11%) buffalo calves; two of them were molecularly identified as C. ryanae Fayer, Santin et Trout, 2008, and another one clustered in the same clade with C. ryanae, C. bovis Fayer, Santin et Xiao, 2005, and C. xiaoi Fayer et Santin, 2009. Giardia duodenalis assemblage E was also molecularly detected in a single (2.6%) buffalo calf. The presence of other buffaloes in the same barn was identified as a risk factor for infection with T. vitulorum. Our results indicate extensive parasitic infections in buffalo calves from northwestern Romania and underline the necessity of prophylactic treatments for T. vitulorum and E. bareillyi.

In this work, the finite element technique is employed to evaluate the effects of thermal relaxation durations on temperature, displacements, and stresses in a two-dimensional, polymeric, orthotropic, elastic medium. The problem is considered in a homogeneous, polymeric, orthotropic medium in the context of the Green and Lindsay model with two thermal relaxation times. The bounding surface of the half-space was subjected to a heat flux with an exponentially decaying pulse. Finite element techniques were used to solve the governing formulations, with eight-node isoparametric rectangular elements with three degrees of freedom (DOF) per node. The developed method was calculated using numerical results applied to the polymeric, orthotropic medium. The findings were implemented and visually shown. Finally, the results were displayed to demonstrate the differences between classical dynamic coupling (CT), the Lord-Shulman (LS) and the Green and Lindsay (GL) models.

The predator–prey-transmitted cestode Taenia hydatigena infects a wide range of definitive and intermediate hosts all over the world. Domestic and sylvatic cycles of transmission are considered as well. The parasite has considerable economic importance, particularly in sheep. Here, the molecular characters of T. hydatigena cysticerci in sheep from the Nile Delta, Egypt were investigated for the first time. For this purpose, 200 sheep carcasses and their offal were inspected at the municipal abattoir, Dakahlia governorate, Egypt. Cysticerci of T. hydatigena were collected and molecularly characterized employing the mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene. Cysticerci were found in 42 (21%) sheep, mostly attached to the omenti, mesenteries and livers. After molecular confirmation, nine isolates were sequenced displaying six different haplotypes. Analysis of the T. hydatigena 12S rRNA nucleotide sequences deposited in GenBank revealed 55 haplotypes out of 69 isolates, displaying high haplotype (0.797) and low nucleotide (0.00739) diversities. For the Tajima D neutrality index, a negative value (−2.702) was determined, indicating the population expansion of the parasite. Additionally, global data summarized in this study should be useful to set up effective control strategies against this ubiquitous parasite.

The goal of this research was to prepare and characterize nanonized particles of the antifungal drug, fluconazole (FLZ) using antisolvent precipitation nanonization technique to improve its ocular permeation. The impact of various concentrations of different stabilizers, namely Pluronic F-127 (PL F 127), Kollicoat IR (KL), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose E3 (HPMC), xanthan gum (XG), polyvinyl pyrrolidone K30 (PVP), and sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) upon the resulting nanoparticles was investigated. Additionally, the ex vivo release of the FLZ nanonized particles from ophthalmic gel bases was studied by using goat cornea, and the ocular pharmacokinetics of appropriate ophthalmic gel base containing optimized drug nanoparticle formula compared to the untreated drug were studied in rabbits. FLZ nanoparticles were successfully prepared with different concentrations of stabilizers. However, the effects of these stabilizers on nanoparticle size and zeta potential values varied according to the concentration and type of stabilizer used. Based on differential scanning calorimetry, the drug was in its amorphous state in the tested nanoparticle formulations. The results of ex vivo ocular diffusion of the FLZ nanoparticle gel formulations revealed an improvement compared to that with the FLZ untreated gel. Nanoparticle formula (F3) prepared by using 5% PL F127 showed small particle size (352 ± 6.1 nm) with zeta potential value of -18.3 mV with highest ex vivo release rate from goat cornea (100% after 6 h). Moreover, the AUC 0-8h from ocular application of FLZ from sodium alginate gel containing nanoparticle formula F3 was 1.4-fold higher than that after its administration in the untreated formula. Based on our findings, the ophthalmic gel formulations containing FLZ nanoparticles enhanced drug corneal permeation and improved the ocular pharmacokinetic parameters., (© 2021 The Authors.)

Feces from 184 sheep from Dakahlia governorate, Egypt were tested for Eimeria species oocysts by using the standard floatation technique; oocysts were detected in 126 (68.4%). The prevalence was significantly higher in young sheep than adults. Eleven Eimeria species were identified: Eimeria ahsata , Eimeria bakuensis , Eimeria crandallis , Eimeria faurei , Eimeria granulosa , Eimeria intricata , Eimeria marsica , Eimeria ovinoidalis , Eimeria pallida , Eimeria parva and Eimeria webybridgensis. Oocysts of the most pathogenic ovine species, E. ovinoidalis , were detected in 27 (14.6%) sheep. This is the first report of E. webybridgensis in sheep from Egypt, possibly due to close similarity of their oocysts to those of E. crandallis which stated in the earlier reports. Worldwide reports on epidemiology of Eimeria spp. infections in sheep are tabulated., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© Indian Society for Parasitology 2020.)

Background: Plantago lanceolata L. is used in Iraqi folklore medicine to treat injuries, and its extract is prescribed by some herbalists for cancer patients. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of P. lanceolata leaf extract on breast cancer cell lines in vitro and to identify its active compounds. Crystal violet viability assay was used to determine the cytotoxicity of methanolic P. lanceolata leaf extract against various breast cancer cell lines. MCF7, AMJ13, MDAMB, and CAL51 human breast cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of the extract for 72 h. The morphology of the treated cells was examined under a phase-contrast inverted microscope. The clonogenic ability was assessed through a clonogenic assay. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis was performed to measure the concentrations of phenols and flavonoids in the extract., Results: The methanolic P. lanceolata leaf extract significantly inhibited the proliferation of triple-negative CAL51 cells but showed minor effect on the other breast cancer cells. In addition, at high doses, it induced cytopathic morphological changes. The clonogenic assay showed low colony formation in the exposed cells, especially CAL51 cells. Furthermore, HPLC study revealed that the methanolic extract contained important flavonoid glycosides, especially rutin, myricetin quercetin, and kaempferol., Conclusions: P. lanceolata leaf extract selectively inhibited the proliferation of CAL51 triple-negative breast cancer cells and showed minor effect on the other breast cancer cells types studied. Thus, this study showed P. lanceolata as a possible natural source of selective anti-triple-negative breast cancer drugs.

A wide or enlarged cystic duct is a common encounter in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Many techniques are used to secure its ligation; including internal or extracorporeal knots and Roeder knot. A preformed knot can be used e.g. ETHIBINDER; the Endoloop. The Endo GIA is a useful stapling device but is more expensive. Other simpler techniques have also been described. The author developed a new, simple, safe and quick technique to ligate the wide cystic duct utilizing the commonly used multiple clip appliers. The technique does not need special skill or instruments and ensures complete ligation of the wide cystic duct using overlapping of the clips.