Search

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects, including education. This phenomenon has drastically changed the teaching and learning interactions in schools. This change shocked teachers and students unprepared for competence, subject matter, and technology, including psychology. For that constraint, the authors are interested in contributing their ideas/thoughts in the form of developing active learning materials for English online classes based on a genre-based approach for VIII grade junior high school students. The researchers developed the product through development research (RD) involving a sample of 114 VIII grade junior high school students and 3 English teachers. Through needs analysis of respondents, researchers can map the objectives and learning materials needed by respondents. Researchers use this need analysis to develop online-based learning materials. The final product is a supplementary online book consisting of 6 units with different themes. From the results of field trials, it is known that this book is very well received by the user, in this case, the VIII grade students and English teachers of SMP/MTs.

Volunteers are a vital human resource at any sporting event, and numerous experiments have been undertaken to clarify the motivation factors of volunteers in multiple situations. The purpose of this study is to identify the main factor that motivates students in joining volunteer activity and to identify the different factors between the gender that motivate them to take part in volunteer activity. Since it is stated that university students contribute the most to volunteer activity, the research data were gathered from 496 students of the University of Malaya (UM) by using Volunteer Motivation Scale for Sporting Event (VMS-ISE) with a total of 29 items from seven dimensions. The findings revealed that volunteer motivation can be grouped into seven variables: Expression of value, patriotism, career orientation, interpersonal contact, personal growth, extrinsic reward, and love of the sport. Data were analyzed by using descriptive analysis to identify the main factor that motivates sports volunteer involvement and Mann-Whitney analysis to identify motivation factors to involve in sports activity between gender. The result showed that the most respondent were female students (58.5%) compared to male students (41.5%). Students revealed that expression of values is the dimension that better predicted the level of voluntary motivation and the dimensions that showed a significant difference between gender is the dimension of love of sport, extrinsic reward, expression of value, and career orientation. The theoretical and functional effects of these studies are discussed in more detail.

The post-pandemic age has heightened the importance of digitalizing organizational practices and fostering innovation for SMEs to ensure resilient business operations in a volatile work environment. This research paper examines the impact of digital transformation leadership on the digitalization of business practices and the development of innovative business models while considering the roles of organizational agility and knowledge transfer. A survey of 270 employees from SMEs in Lebanon was conducted using the convenience sampling technique. Data analysis was performed quantitatively through Partial Least Squares—Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that adopting digital transformation leadership fosters organizational agility, enabling effective digital transformation and business model innovation with a robust knowledge transfer system. This study contributes to the fields of digital transformation and innovation, and offers practical insights for SME managers navigating uncertainties and market volatility in the post-pandemic period.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has experienced major technological and procedural changes that will continue in the post-pandemic age. For this reason, firms are expected to learn from such an unprecedented experience and ensure that the managerial and workforce practices in the post-pandemic period are directed toward rebuilding and reinventing the workplace. Within the scope of the research topic: “Diversity, Innovations, and Entrepreneurship in Post-crisis Periods”, this study accentuates the positive impact of human capital development programs in enhancing employee performance. Moreover, the roles of resilience, empowerment, and mimetic isomorphism are analyzed to better enable firms to learn from their past experience and develop practices that fit the agile environment. A questionnaire was administered targeting 370 employees in 12 SMEs in Lebanon. A conditional analysis was used to test the hypotheses through SPSS, PROCESS. The results of this study showed that the deployment of developmental programs is deemed indispensable for enhancing the performance of SME employees and helping them overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic through empowerment and resilience. This study can be useful for academics who might benefit from its theoretical implications and prospective directions for future analyses. Moreover, its results can also be helpful for practitioners, specifically managers of SMEs who are seeking to reinvent their workplace in a responsive way in the post-pandemic age.

(1) Background: Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS) is a three-dimensional (3D) spine deformity. The Cobb angle, evaluated with 2D radiography, is the gold standard to determine curve severity. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the 3D spinal evaluation with rasterstereography in patients with AIS. The hypothesis was that rasterstereography reached higher accuracy than the gold standard 2D radiography. The second aim was to compare rasterstereography with 3D radiography. The hypothesis was that the rasterstereographic evaluation of patients with severe major scoliosis curves is closer to 3D radiography compared to the gold standard (2D radiography). (2) Methods: This is a prospective comparative study of a consecutive series of 53 patients, with the scoliosis curve evaluated with two 3D methods and the gold standard (2D radiography). (3) Results: The hypothesis that rasterstereography reached higher accuracy than the gold standard 2D radiography was validated for all curves. Even if all curves were highly correlated, both rasterstereography and 2D radiography scoliosis evaluation were underestimated for moderate/severe curves compared to 3D radiography. (4) Conclusions: The rasterstereographic evaluation of major curve scoliosis is not accurate enough to replace 2D radiography for moderate/severe curves. A longitudinal follow-up should be assessed in future studies to define the sensitivity of the detection of a significant change in the scoliotic mild and moderate curve (

Introduction: The spread of Covid19 could be prevented by breaking the chain of transmission through the practice of wearing a mask while going outside or being in a crowd, washing hands using hand soap under running water, and doing physical distancing (3M). The difference in information distribution and access about Covid19 between rural and urban citizens connected to the awareness of doing 3M. This research aims to analyze the correlation between awareness and practicing wearing masks, washing hands, and physical distancing within rural and urban citizens. Methods: Data was collected using mixed-method survey, was done both online and offline to reach respondents from several provinces in Indonesia. Data retrieval was done using a questionnaire, and there were 2,196 people participated as respondents. Results and Discussion: Logistic regression analysis showed that age (p = 0.042; OR = 1.117), sex (p = 0.000; OR = 0.377), living area (p = 0.000; OR = 2.291), and knowledge (p = 0,000; OR = 1,450) have the significant relation with respondents' awareness of doing 3M. The age group of 27-36 years old, female, and well-knowledged respondents has a higher awareness of doing 3M than other groups. Rural citizens with a good awareness of doing 3M (87.78%) are bigger than urban citizens (76.02%). Conclusion: The good awareness of rural citizens has shown that both area's citizens already had the equality of information access, especially about Covid19 prevention and the government's policy and programs to reduce the spread of Covid199

The contribution of Ionizing Radiation (IoR) in diagnosis and therapy increases every day. Therefore it is considered one of the most popular genotoxic exogenous agent. Hence the estimation of DNA damages due to the applied IoR dose is a must. There are many techniques used for the detection of DNA damage that depend on different measurable parameters. In this work, Comet and Cytochalasin-B Blocked Micronucleus (CBMN) assays were applied in order to detect the extent of DNA damage due to the exposure to different doses of gamma rays. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were exposed to doses of 2, 4, 6, and 8 Gy from 137Cs gamma-radiation source. Measured Comet assay dose parameters (tail DNA, tail length and tail moment) exhibit a significantly high correlation (p < 0.01) with the exposure dose. However, micronuclei (MNi) (CBMN parameter) showed a p-value greater than 0.05. Thus we can conclude that Comet assay is evidently more reliable than CBMN in the estimation of the magnitude of DNA damage in peripheral blood lymphocytes due to exposure to gamma radiation.

Since Pier Antonio Micheli described and published genus Aspergillus in Nova Plantarum Genera in 1729 the genus attracted an immense interest. The published Egyptian literature on the genus is scattered and fragmentary. By screening the available sources of information since 1921, it was possible to figure out a range of 150 taxa that could be representing genus Aspergillus in Egypt up to the present time. Ten species of Aspergillus were introduced as type materials from Egypt since 1964 till now.Recorded taxa were assigned to 5 subgenera and 25 sections. This article includes Aspergillus species that are known to Egypt, provides a comprehensive checklist of species isolated from Egypt and provisional key to the identification of reported taxa is given. Although the present study will add some new data to our information concerning the Ascomycota of Egypt, this work must be considered as a provisional one always waiting for continuous supplementation.

Introduction Pancreatic cancer is characterised by severe mid-back and epigastric pain caused by tumour invasion of the coeliac nerve plexus. This pain is often poorly managed with standard treatments. This clinical trial investigates a novel approach in which high-dose radiation (radiosurgery) is targeted to the retroperitoneal coeliac plexus nerve bundle. Preliminary results from a single institution pilot trial are promising: pain relief is substantial and side effects minimal. The goals of this study are to validate these findings in an international multisetting, and investigate the impact on quality of life and functional status among patients with terminal cancer.Methods and analysis A single-arm prospective phase II clinical trial. Eligible patients are required to have severe coeliac pain of at least five on the 11-point BPI average pain scale and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of two or better. Non-pancreatic cancers invading the coeliac plexus are also eligible. The intervention involves irradiating the coeliac plexus using a single fraction of 25 Gy. The primary endpoint is the complete or partial pain response at 3 weeks. Secondary endpoints include pain at 6 weeks, analgesic use, hope, qualitative of life, caregiver burden and functional outcomes, all measured using validated instruments. The protocol is expected to open at a number of cancer centres across the globe, and a quality assurance programme is included. The protocol requires that 90 evaluable patients be accrued, based upon the assumption that a third of patients are non-evaluable (e.g. due to death prior to 3-weeks post-treatment assessment, or spontaneous improvement of pain pre-treatment), it is estimated that a total of 120 patients will need to be accrued. Supported by Gateway for Cancer Research and the Israel Cancer Association.Ethics and dissemination Ethic approval for this study has been obtained at eight academic medical centres located across the Middle East, North America and Europe. Results will be disseminated through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications.Trial registration number NCT03323489.

Background: Increasing access to safe, timely, and affordable acute care in low- and middle-income countries is a worldwide priority. Longitudinal curricula on systems of acute care have not been previously described. Objectives: The authors aimed to develop a novel four-year longitudinal curriculum for medical students addressing systems development across multiple acute care specialties. Methods: The authors followed Kern’s six-step framework for curriculum design. After review of literature, a group of medical students and school of medicine faculty conducted a targeted needs assessment. Foundational goals and objectives were adapted from the 39 interprofessional global health competencies by the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. Educational strategies include didactic sessions, workshops, journal clubs, preceptorships, and community outreach. Clinical years include specialty-specific emphases, guided junior-level discussions, and a capstone project. Yearly SWOT and Kirkpatrick model analyses served as program evaluation. Findings: The Curriculum Council approved the program in July 2019. During the first cycle, the program matriculated 30 students from classes of 2023 (14) and 2022 (16). The first year produced 11 interactive sessions, 6 journal clubs, and 10 seminars led by 31 faculty and guest speakers; 29/30 students completed requirements; 87 evaluations reflected 4.57/5 content satisfaction and 4.73/5 instructor satisfaction. The 2023 cohort reported improved understanding of session objectives (3.13/5 vs. 3.82/5, p = 0.03). Free-text feedback led to implementation of pre-reading standardization and activity outlines. Conclusion: The Program was well-received and successfully implemented. It meets the needs of graduating medical students interested in leading global health work. This novel student-faculty collaborative model could be applied at other institutions seeking to provide students with a foundation in global acute care.

Key points Progression of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension is thought to be due, in part, to suppression of voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv) in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle by hypoxia, although the precise molecular mechanisms have been unclear., AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) has been proposed to couple inhibition of mitochondrial metabolism by hypoxia to acute hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and progression of pulmonary hypertension., Inhibition of complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain activated AMPK and inhibited Kv1.5 channels in pulmonary arterial myocytes., AMPK activation by 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside, A769662 or C13 attenuated Kv1.5 currents in pulmonary arterial myocytes, and this effect was non-additive with respect to Kv1.5 inhibition by hypoxia and mitochondrial poisons., Recombinant AMPK phosphorylated recombinant human Kv1.5 channels in cell-free assays, and inhibited K+ currents when introduced into HEK 293 cells stably expressing Kv1.5., These results suggest that AMPK is the primary mediator of reductions in Kv1.5 channels following inhibition of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation during hypoxia and by mitochondrial poisons., Abstract Progression of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension is thought to be due, in part, to suppression of voltage-gated potassium channels (Kv) in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells that is mediated by the inhibition of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. We sought to determine the role in this process of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which is intimately coupled to mitochondrial function due to its activation by LKB1-dependent phosphorylation in response to increases in the cellular AMP:ATP and/or ADP:ATP ratios. Inhibition of complex I of the mitochondrial electron transport chain using phenformin activated AMPK and inhibited Kv currents in pulmonary arterial myocytes, consistent with previously reported effects of mitochondrial inhibitors. Myocyte Kv currents were also markedly inhibited upon AMPK activation by A769662, 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside and C13 and by intracellular dialysis from a patch-pipette of activated (thiophosphorylated) recombinant AMPK heterotrimers (α2β2γ1 or α1β1γ1). Hypoxia and inhibitors of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation reduced AMPK-sensitive K+ currents, which were also blocked by the selective Kv1.5 channel inhibitor diphenyl phosphine oxide-1 but unaffected by the presence of the BKCa channel blocker paxilline. Moreover, recombinant human Kv1.5 channels were phosphorylated by AMPK in cell-free assays, and K+ currents carried by Kv1.5 stably expressed in HEK 293 cells were inhibited by intracellular dialysis of AMPK heterotrimers and by A769662, the effects of which were blocked by compound C. We conclude that AMPK mediates Kv channel inhibition by hypoxia in pulmonary arterial myocytes, at least in part, through phosphorylation of Kv1.5 and/or an associated protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The aim of the study was to determine the feasibility and accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with advanced breast cancer after preoperative chemotherapy. Patients and methods A prospective study was conducted on 73 patients with advanced operable breast carcinoma previously treated with preoperative chemotherapy. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping was performed at the time of surgery. Following surgery all patients received comprehensive postoperative radiotherapy at 50 Gy/5 weeks. Results Seventy-three patients with a median age of 52 years who had been previously treated with preoperative chemotherapy at Menofia University Hospital and National Cancer Institute (NCI) between May 2006 and May 2013 were selected for this study. The SLN detection rate was 79.5%. Thirty-three of 58 patients (56.9%) had successfully mapped positive SLNs. The false-negative rate was 22.4%. Conclusion This study confirms the feasibility of SLNB after preoperative chemotherapy in the case of advanced operable breast cancer. According to the detection rate and false-negative rate SLNB may predict metastatic disease in the axilla of patients with tumor response following preoperative chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the depth of leadership and its effects on organizational outcomes have been a topic of complex nature, attracting scholars, and practitioners alike. This becomes more vital for tourism industry, where extent of competitive rivalry is extremely high as employees are vital in this sector. The current research examines the relationship between transactional leadership and organizational citizenship behavior of employees in tourism-related businesses. Furthermore, this study assumes that psychological contract fulfillment can moderate the relationship between leadership and perception of organizational justice, which can then mediate employees’ citizenship behaviors. Current research takes place in Lebanon, where the industry of tourism is highly important. Empirical evidence yielded from data analysis has shown support for moderating effect of psychological contract fulfillment on leadership and perception of justice linkage. This strengthens the perception of justice within the firm, which further proven to be of significance in terms of mediating transactional leadership and extra-role behaviors of employees. Theoretical development as well as practical implications have merged to aid the literature as well as managerial levels of tourism sector. JEL Classification: D23, M12, Z32

Abstract Background The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a modified percutaneous radiologic gastrostomy (MPRG) technique under ultrasound and fluoroscopic guidance without endoscopic or nasogastric access. Results The study included 24 patients: 10 males and 14 females whose ages ranged from 44 to 80 years old. Ten patients had esophageal cancer and 14 patients had neck cancer. Technical success was achieved in 23 out of the 25 procedures (92%). Two procedures failed (8%) and were converted to the conventional technique by using the nasogastric tube. No major complications were reported. Minor complications were observed in 5 patients (20%): intraperitoneal air and contrast leakage in 4 patients and focal mucosal dissection by the contrast in 1 patient. Conclusion The MPRG has high technical success rate, is safe with no major complications, and is most feasible when endoscopic or nasogastric access cannot be performed.

Fungi have a long and intimate connection with humankind, particularly at the chemical level as a source of both harmful and beneficial compounds. Their worldwide occurrence in various food and feeds poses a major health threatening risk for human and animal and, as a consequence, mycotoxins represent an economic burden. Fortunately, not all fungal secondary metabolites are toxic to humankind such as; antibiotics, phytotoxines, enzymes and antioxidants, which represent the other side of the coin. Endophytes are now considered as an important component of biodiversity, and act as reservoirs of novel bioactive secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, flavanoids, phenols, phenolic acids, quinones, steroids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, isocoumarin derivatives, peptides and enzymes, beside their ability to produce the same or similar kind of compounds of their host plants. Today’s world challenge is ensuring the safety of food, which has been a major focus of international and national action over the last years. Legislative limits for a range of mycotoxins continue to develop worldwide, due to being carcinogenic to animals and humans, resulting in an increased number of official controls monitoring in the food supply chain deriving from national food safety plans and for food trade purposes. This review brings about the harmful (mycotoxins) and beneficial (antioxidants, antibiotics, enzymes) fungal metabolites in industrial and pharmaceutical applications. It also provides a perspective about mechanism of how can endophytic fungi metabolites play a reverse role as one of the main strategies of mycotoxin deactivation and prevention representing the other side of the coin.

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), also known as Speech-To-Text (STT) or computer speech recognition, has been an active field of research recently. This study aims to chart this field by performing a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to give insight into the ASR studies proposed, especially for the Arabic language. The purpose is to highlight the trends of research about Arabic ASR and guide researchers with the most significant studies published over ten years from 2011 to 2021. This SLR attempts to tackle seven specific research questions related to the toolkits used for developing and evaluating Arabic ASR, the supported type of the Arabic language, the used feature extraction/classification techniques, the type of speech recognition, the performance of Arabic ASR, the existing gaps facing researchers, along with some future research. Across five databases, 38 studies met our defined inclusion criteria. Our results showed different open-source toolkits to support Arabic speech recognition. The most prominent ones were KALDI, HTK, then CMU Sphinx toolkits. A total of 89.47% of the retained studies cover modern standard Arabic, whereas 26.32% of them were dedicated to different dialects of Arabic. MFCC and HMM were presented as the most used feature extraction and classification techniques, respectively: 63% of the papers were based on MFCC and 21% were based on HMM. The review also shows that the performance of Arabic ASR systems depends mainly on different criteria related to the availability of resources, the techniques used for acoustic modeling, and the used datasets.

Abstract Synovial sarcoma is a soft tissue sarcoma. Its occurrence as a primary mediastinal neoplasm is very rare. We report a case of mediastinal synovial sarcoma in a 14‐year‐old girl with exertive dyspnoea at presentation. On physical examination, there was a superior vena cava syndrome and café‐au‐lait spots. Chest X‐ray revealed a white left hemithorax with mediastinal deviation to the opposite side. Thoraco‐abdomino‐pelvic scanner showed a voluminous posterior cervico‐mediastinal tissue mass. Computed tomography (CT)‐guided biopsy of the mediastino‐pleural mass was performed. Histological examination reported fusocellular malignant mesenchymal proliferation. A complementary immunohistological study with a broad range of antibodies was performed with a high‐grade single‐phase spindle cell synovial sarcoma of the mediastinum. She presented a respiratory distress, did not respond to resuscitation, and died. Mediastinal synovial sarcoma is a rare tumour that is difficult to diagnose. Its slow progression and delay in diagnosis may lead to a fatal evolution.

This study presents a descriptive-analytical argument for exploring the concept of definiteness in Arabic adopting Chesterman's theory of definiteness as a scalar and non-binary system. It investigates the meanings and functions of the Arabic article al- focusing on the divergent nature of definiteness as indicated by this article. Results have shown that al- has different meanings which serve various functions of which definiteness is only one. It has three distinct structures (a) nominal al- (al al-mawṣūla) which functions as a relative noun, (b) an article of definiteness (al al-ta'rīf) and (c) augmented al- (al al-zā'ida). When used as a definite article, al- does not always indicate true definiteness; it can be used pragmatically to indicate verbal 'non-referential' definiteness (ta'rīf lafẓī) equal to what Chesterman refers to as 'inclusiveness' as an area of opposition in definiteness. This paper concludes that definiteness in Arabic is a scalar rather than a bi-polar concept where al- does serve, though not in all cases, as an article of definiteness. The oppositions indicated in the way definiteness are linguistically encoded and semantically decoded by Arabic definiteness constructions in general, and those indicated by the Arabic article al- in particular, are not discrete but scalar. It is recommended that definiteness is viewed as a continuum of scales and degrees depending on contextual pragmatic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Le but de cette étude était de décrire les caractéristiques cliniques, radiologiques, histologiques et thérapeutiques du cancer du sein diagnostiqué au cours de la grossesse. Nous avons effectué la revue de tous les cancers du sein diagnostiqués au cours de la grossesse dans le centre Maternité et de Néonatologie de Monastir -Tunisie, sur une période allant de 2004 à 2019. Nous avons ainsi colligé 15 cas. L´âge moyen des patientes était de 34 ans. La plupart des cancers du sein associés à la grossesse (CSAG) était diagnostiquée en post-partum. Le carcinome canalaire infiltrant était le type histologique majeur (93% de cas), un cas rare de carcinome sécrétoire a été observé. Le stade clinique était dominé par les formes T2 et T4. Les récepteurs hormonaux étaient négatifs dans 40% des cas, Le récepteur HER2 était positif dans 26.6% des cas. Le traitement incluait la chirurgie, radiothérapie, chimiothérapie et palliative. La moyenne de survie est de 32,2 mois. Le cancer du sein associé à la grossesse est une entité rare. Son pronostic est globalement mauvais en raison de l´âge jeune de survenue et d´un diagnostic souvent tardif. La décision thérapeutique constitue une contrainte difficile, par nécessité, multidisciplinaire à laquelle participera la patiente. La thérapie ciblée reste le grand espoir des nouvelles thérapies.

Les sarcomes du stroma endométrial sont des tumeurs rares de la femme jeune. Le diagnostic est posé le plus souvent en post opératoire. Nous Rapportons le cas d´une jeune fille de 22 ans admise dans un tableau de douleurs pelviennes avec métrorragies. L´imagerie a mis en évidence une masse utérine hétérogène. Le diagnostic de fibrome atypique était évoqué. Le diagnostic final est apporté par l´examen anatomopathologique de la pièce opératoire.

Background Targeted and effective treatment options are needed for solid tumors, including glioblastoma (GBM), where survival rates with standard treatments are typically less than 2 years from diagnosis. Solid tumors pose many barriers to immunotherapies, including therapy half-life and persistence, tumor penetrance, and targeting. Therapeutics delivered systemically may not traffic to the tumor site. If cellular therapies or drugs are able to access the tumor site, or can be delivered directly within the tumor, treatments may not persist for the duration necessary to reduce or eliminate tumor burden. An approach that allows durable and titratable local therapeutic protein delivery could improve antitumor efficacy while minimizing toxicities or unwanted on-target, off-tissue effects.Methods In this study, human monocyte-derived macrophages were genetically engineered to secrete a bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) specific to the mutated epidermal growth factor variant III (EGFRvIII) expressed by some GBM tumors. We investigated the ability of lentivirally modified macrophages to secrete a functional BiTE that can bind target tumor antigen and activate T cells. Secreted BiTE protein was assayed in a range of T cell functional assays in vitro and in subcutaneous and intracranial GBM xenograft models. Finally, we tested genetically engineered macrophages (GEMs) secreting BiTE and the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-12 to amplify T cell responses in vitro and in vivo.Results Transduced human macrophages secreted a lentivirally encoded functional EGFRvIII-targeted BiTE protein capable of inducing T cell activation, proliferation, degranulation, and killing of antigen-specific tumor cells. Furthermore, BiTE secreting macrophages reduced early tumor burden in both subcutaneous and intracranial mouse models of GBM, a response which was enhanced using macrophages that were dual transduced to secrete both the BiTE protein and single chain IL-12, preventing tumor growth in an aggressive GBM model.Conclusions The ability of macrophages to infiltrate and persist in solid tumor tissue could overcome many of the obstacles associated with systemic delivery of immunotherapies. We have found that human GEMs can locally and constitutively express one or more therapeutic proteins, which may help recruit T cells and transform the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment to better support antitumor immunity.

La chimiothérapie néoadjuvante est devenue le traitement de première intention des cancers du sein localement avancés. Elle permet d´une part, une augmentation des chances de conservation mammaire sans pour autant une majoration du risque de récidive, et d´autre part un contrôle locorégional des formes inopérables d´emblée. Cependant, certains facteurs cliniques, radiologiques et histologiques sont associés à une augmentation du risque de mastectomie, tels que la présence de microcalcifications, la multifocalité, le grade SBR1 et 2, les stades cT3 et cT4 et la surexpression d’HER2. A partir de ce travail, nous avons cherché à déterminer les facteurs prédictifs de mastectomie après chimiothérapie néoadjuvante (CNA), si la mastectomie était justifiée ou non histologiquement et quels étaient les facteurs prédictifs de mastectomie non justifiée. Nous avons réalisé une étude rétrospective colligeant 72 patientes atteintes de cancer du sein et traitée par CNA aux départements de gynécologie et d´oncologie médicale au CHU Fattouma Bourguiba de Monastir-Tunisie. Le taux du traitement conservateur était de 18,1%, il passe à 63,15% pour les tumeurs stade T2. La mastectomie n´était pas justifiée par l’histologie définitive dans 26,3% des cas. Les facteurs prédictifs de mastectomie non justifiée retrouvées dans notre étude étaient le statut RH négatif et le stade cT2. La réalisation de ce travail a conduit à une réflexion sur nos pratiques et leurs modifications. Le traitement chirurgical conservateur devra être considéré comme un standard thérapeutique et être systématiquement proposé à toutes les patientes traitées par CNA pour un cancer du sein y compris en cas de multifocalité, une taille clinique importante, des microcalcifications étendues, dans le but de diminuer de façon conséquente le nombre de mastectomies non justifiées.

Background: The signalling pathway Fas and FasL system plays a fundamental role in the regulation of apoptotic cell death and any disturbance of this pathway has been shown to promote immune escape and tumorigenesis. Many types of cancers show reduced expression of FAS and elevated FasL expression. The Fas21377G/A, and FasL2844T/C polymorphisms might be associated with increased risk of lung cancer. Objective: The interplay between genetic polymorphisms could participate in cancer development. This study aimed to examine the contribution of Fas21377AA and FasL2844CC genotypes to risk of developing lung cancer. Subjects and methods: A case-control study was conducted on 20 non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cases and 40 controls. Genotyping of Fas 21377AA and FasL 2844CC Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) were done to all subjects. Results: The distribution of Fas and FasL genotypes showed a higher frequency of Fas AA genotype among patients compared to controls with an increased risk of lung cancer (OR 5.28; CI:1.35–20.65, P value .01). No statistically significant difference was found between patients and controls groups in respect to FasL genotypes. Gene to gene interaction between Fas and FasL genotypes showed significant differences between the patients and controls groups. As regards the combination between FasL TT+CT & Fas AA, FasL CC & Fas GG+GA and FasL CC & Fas AA genotypes where patients carrying FasL CC or Fas AA genotypes have increased risk to develop lung cancer, (OR 10.28, 95% CI; 1.68–62.74, P value .01), (OR 72, 95% CI; 5.55–132.99, P value .001) and (OR 9, 95% CI; 1.5–53.86, P value .01) respectively. The FasL-CC genotype showed 2.25 folds increased risk to develop lung cancer in non-smoker patients, P = .008. No correlation was found between the pathological types, the stage of lung cancer and the Fas and FasL genotypes. Conclusion: The interaction of the cell death pathway genes Fas and FasL polymorphisms could be associated with the risk of lung cancer, in the same respect Fas AA genotype could also potentiate this risk. Keywords: Cell death pathway genes, Fas FasL polymorphisms, Non small cell lung cancer, PCR-RFLP

Abstract Background Several studies have reported the role of CYP2A6 genetic polymorphisms in smoking and lung cancer risk with some contradictory results in different populations. The purpose of the current study is to assess the contribution of the CYP2A6*2 rs1801272 and CYP2A6*9 rs28399433 gene polymorphisms and tobacco smoking in the risk of lung cancer in an Egyptian population. Methods A case-control study was conducted on 150 lung cancer cases and 150 controls. All subjects were subjected to blood sampling for Extraction of genomic DNA and Genotyping of the CYP2A6 gene SNPs (CYP2A6*2 (1799 T > A) rs1801272 and CYP2A6*9 (− 48 T > G) rs28399433 by Real time PCR. Results AC and CC genotypes were detected in CYP2A6*9; and AT genotype in CYP2A6*2. The frequency of CYP2A6*2 and CYP2A6*9 were 0.7% and 3.7% respectively in the studied Egyptian population. All cancer cases with slow metabolizer variants were NSCLC. Non-smokers represented 71.4% of the CYP2A6 variants. There was no statistical significant association between risk of lung cancer, smoking habits, heaviness of smoking and the different polymorphisms of CYP2A6 genotypes. Conclusion The frequency of slow metabolizers CYP2A6*2 and CYP2A6*9 are poor in the studied Egyptian population. Our findings did not suggest any association between CYP2A6 genotypes and risk of lung cancer.

Two pot experiments were carried out at the greenhouse of the Cotton Research Institute, Agric. Res. Cent., Giza, Egypt during 2015 and 2016 seasons to study the response of cotton plant to application of some nutrients to improve the performance of cotton plant under irrigation of saline water to increase growth, yield and yield components and fiber quality of Giza 90 cotton cultivar. The experimental design was a split plot design with four replications. Main plots included saline water solutions treatments (control, 2000, 4000, 6000 and 8000 ppm), sub plot included four nutrients application (Potassium Humate, Algex, Poly Ethylene Glycol (PEG) 6000 and Potassein compared with control). The obtained results could be summarized as follows: Irrigation with saline water over seasons significantly decreased plant height, number of fruiting branches/plant, number of open bolls /plant, boll weight, seed index, seed cotton yield per plant, fiber length, uniformity index, fiber strength and micronaire value, while, lint % was significantly increased. Nutrients application had significant effect on growth parameters, yield and its components and fiber properties under study, All nutrients treatments gave the highest values of growth parameters, yield and its components and fiber properties as compared with the control in both seasons. In general, plants sprayed with PEG gave the highest averages of plant height, number of fruiting branches/plant. Potassium Humate gave the highest averages of yield and its components and fiber properties followed by plants sprayed with Algex, while the plants sprayed with PEG as came the last in these respect in both seasons. Interaction between irrigation with slain water and nutrients application by salinity tolerance inducers had a significant effect on plant height, number of fruiting branches per plant, boll weight, number of open bolls /plant, seed index, seed cotton yield /plant and fiber quality under study in both seasons. Plants treated with foliar nutrients under salinity condation scored the highest average of growth parameters, yield and its components and fiber properties. Potassium Humate, Algex, PEG and Potassein applications to plants under normal and salinity conditions had positive effects on improving the performance of cotton plants, which increased plant growth and yield especially under salinity conditions.

Rhodotorula yeasts which are known as carotenogenic yeasts have a great industrial value due to their ability to produce carotenoids. In particular, the isolated yeast Rhodotorula sp. (strain ATL72) has been reported to be a promising producer of high concentrations of carotenoids. A combination of central composite design (CCD) and Plackett–Burman (PB) design was used to optimize carotenoids produced by this yeast. The optimum production of carotenoids was completed when the yeast was grown in a production medium composed of 3.7 g/L malt extract, 7.7 g/L fructose, 9 g/L urea, 35 g/L NaCl, and 1 g/L yeast extract at 27.5 °C, pH 6.7, and 180 rpm. Two batch runs in 1 L and 7 L bioreactors were conducted which increased the productivity of carotenoid concentration from 21.5 mg/L after 98 h of incubation at the level of the shake flask to 229.9 mg/L after 47 h of incubation at the level of 7 L bioreactor. The carotenoid pigment was extracted in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), acetone, petroleum ether, and sodium chloride, and subsequently identified and characterized using UV-visible scanning, thin layer chromatography, and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.

Toxocara vitulorum is an Ascarid nematode infecting the small intestine of buffalo and cattle particularly neonate calves, with the postnatal route through milk is the main infection source. However, little is known about shedding rates and the optimum detection methods of T. vitulorum larvae in the milk of the infected bovine hosts. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the use of two methods, microscopy and PCR, and their detection limits both under the experimental and natural infection situations. In doing this, T. vitulorum eggs extracted from naturally occurring adult female worms were successfully subjected to experimental embryonation, and larvae were implemented in experimental infection of milk in ascending infection doses of 0, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 larvae/2-ml milk samples. With the except of negative control, microscopy-based examination detected larvae in all samples, albeit with means, ranges, and the total number of larvae were detected in exponential rates relative to larvae densities in milk samples. PCR technique corresponded well to microscopy in detecting genomic DNA of T. vitulorum larvae in all milk samples down to a single larva/sample. On the other hand, and by applying the same methodology approach on 50 naturally-occurring bovine colostrum/milk samples, 13 (26%) and 20 (40%) samples were tested positive for T. vitulorum infection by microscopy and the PCR-based detection, respectively. Of these, 11 out of 26 buffalo samples (42.30%) and 2 out of 24 cow samples (8.33%) were tested positive by microscopy, while 16 (61.54%) and 3 (12.50%) of buffalo and cow samples were tested positive by PCR, respectively. By applying the Agreement Coefficient, substantial agreement (0.77) between molecular and microscopy detection was detected from all tested samples. In conclusion, larvae of T. vitulorum were unequivocally detected by microscopy and molecular methods in milk samples both under the experimental and natural field situations. Nevertheless, slightly higher rates by PCR than microscopy were obtained when detecting naturally-infected milk samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first in situ detection of larvae of T. vitulorum in the milk of the naturally infected animals.

Le cancer lobulaire infiltrant (CLI) du sein représente 5 à 15% des cancers du sein, il est classé le deuxième type histologique le plus fréquent, après le cancer infiltrant de type non spécifique (CINS) et son incidence est en nette augmentation. Son diagnostic clinique et radiologique est difficile. Il est plus fréquemment bilatéral. C'est un cancer d'évolution plus lente que le CINS avec de meilleurs facteurs pronostiques notre étude vise à détailler les caractéristiques cliniques, radiologiques, thérapeutiques et pronostiques du CLI. Il s'agit d'une étude rétrospective descriptive de 30 cas de CLI du sein colligé au Centre de Maternité et Néonatologie Monastir sur une période de 10 ans. L'incidence du CLI était de 5,2%. L'âge moyen est de 53,43 ans. Dix pourcent avaient des antécédents personnels de mastopathies bénignes, 6,66% avaient des antécédents personnels du cancer du sein et 3,33% avaient des antécédents familiaux du cancer du sein. Le CLI était diagnostiqué à un stade tardif chez 18 cas. La masse était bifocale chez 5 patientes, multifocale chez 4 patientes et bilatérale chez 3 patientes. Une seule patiente avait présenté une métastase hépatique lors du diagnostic. La chirurgie radicale type Patey était réalisée d'emblée chez 63,33% des patientes. Des lésions multifocales étaient détectées dans 44,80% des cas lors de l'examen anatomopathologique. Le curage ganglionnaire était positif chez 21 patientes. Vingt huit patientes soit 93,33% avaient bénéficié d'une radiothérapie et d'hormonothérapie adjuvante. La survie globale à 5 ans était estimée à 77,3%.

A role for matrix metalloproteinase polymorphisms in breast cancer development and progression was proposed, but with inconclusive results. We assessed the relation of matrix metalloproteinase-2 variants with breast cancer and related phenotypes in Tunisians. This case-control retrospective study involved 430 women with breast cancer and 498 healthy controls. Genotyping of matrix metalloproteinase-2 rs243866, rs243865, rs243864, and rs2285053 was analyzed by allelic exclusion. The minor allele frequency of rs2285053 was significantly lower in women with breast cancer cases as compared to control women; minor allele frequencies of the remaining single-nucleotide polymorphisms were similar between cases and control women. The distribution of rs243865 and rs2285053 genotypes was significantly different between breast cancer patients and control subjects. This persisted when key covariates were controlled for. None of the matrix metalloproteinase-2 variants were associated with estrogen receptor positivity, progesterone receptor positivity, or with double estrogen receptor–progesterone receptor positivity in breast cancer patients. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 rs243866, rs243865, and rs243864 were positively associated with menstrual irregularity and histological type, while rs243866 and rs2285053 were negatively associated with menarche and nodal status. In addition, rs2285053 was negatively associated with triple negativity, tumor size, distance metastasis, molecular type, and chemotherapy. Haploview analysis revealed high linkage disequilibrium between matrix metalloproteinase-2 variants. Four-locus Haploview analysis identified haplotypes G C TT and GTT C to be negatively associated with breast cancer, which remained statistically after controlling for key covariates. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 alleles and genotypes, along with four-locus haplotypes, are related to reduced susceptibility to breast cancer in Tunisian women, suggesting a protective effect.

Abstract Background Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia (SIOD) is a multisystemic disorder caused by biallelic mutations in the SWI/SNF-related matrix-associated actin-dependent regulator of chromatin, subfamily A-like 1 (SMARCAL1) gene. Changes in gene expression underlie the arteriosclerosis and T-cell immunodeficiency of SIOD; therefore, we hypothesized that SMARCAL1 deficiency causes the focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) of SIOD by altering renal gene expression. We tested this hypothesis by gene expression analysis of an SIOD patient kidney and verified these findings through immunofluorescent analysis in additional SIOD patients and a genetic interaction analysis in Drosophila. Results We found increased expression of components and targets of the Wnt and Notch signaling pathways in the SIOD patient kidney, increased levels of unphosphorylated β-catenin and Notch1 intracellular domain in the glomeruli of most SIOD patient kidneys, and genetic interaction between the Drosophila SMARCAL1 homologue Marcal1 and genes of the Wnt and Notch signaling pathways. Conclusions We conclude that increased Wnt and Notch activity result from SMARCAL1 deficiency and, as established causes of FSGS, contribute to the renal disease of most SIOD patients. This further clarifies the pathogenesis of SIOD and will hopefully direct potential therapeutic approaches for SIOD patients.

Zinc phosphide (Zn3P2) is a widely used rodenticide which has the potential to cause high mortality if ingested. The present study was designed in order to explore the hepatic injury in broiler chicks that were acutely intoxicated with Zn3P2. For this purpose, a total number of 12 broiler Saso chicks were divided into two equal groups. Birds of the first group were exposed to 300 ppm Zn3P2 via food. Hepatic damage of intoxicated birds was evaluated biochemically and histologically using the transmission electron microscope and subsequently compared with another healthy non-treated controls (second group). The serum activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) was significantly higher in those poisoned with Zn3P2, While, activities of both Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as well as, zinc concentration of hepatic tissue did not represented a significant difference between treated and control birds. Histological examination revealed presence of numerous heterogenic shaped mitochondria in hepatocytes of non-treated birds. Glycogen deposits were also scattered in the form of large electron dense deposits. Kupffer cell was irregular in shape and had numerous pseudopods often projected into sinusoidal lumen. In hepatic cells of intoxicated birds, mitochondrial swelling with cristolysis, few glycogen deposits, vacuoles in the cytoplasm and shrunken darkly stained nuclei are the major ultra-structural changes which were detected. It was concluded that the mitochondria could be one of the main target in hepatocytes for the toxic effect of Zn3P2 in broiler chicks.

This study was set out with the aim of assessing the effects of the most commonly available commercial disinfectants on embryogenesis of A. columbae eggs. In addition to the distilled water treatment as a control group, four disinfectants were tested that included formalin, povidone iodide, TH4, and Virkon-S, in three independent experiments. In the first experiment, an overnight incubation with the working concentration of disinfectants resulted in significant inhibition of 80%, 85%, and 98% of embryonic development at day 9 post-treatment with formalin, povidone iodide, and TH4, respectively. This inhibition was continued through days 12 and 15 with the three tested disinfectants. Virkon-S did not affect embryogenesis with larval development comparable to that of the control group. In the second more dissected experiment, contact times of 10, 20, 30, and 60 minutes were set out for each disinfectant with embryogenesis inhibition results echoed that of the first experiment, with all disinfectants but Virkon-S inhibited larval development in significant proportions of eggs. Again, Virkon-S was very neutral in its effect on embryogenesis. When pigeon fecal matters were mixed with eggs and were subjected to disinfectants, discrepancies to results of the first two experiments were observed with only formalin inhibited embryogenesis in considerable proportion of eggs. Thus, and with the exception of Virkon-S, disinfectants tested at levels similar to those applicable in poultry in-houses and farms exhibited potent ovicidal activities on free eggs. To our knowledge, this is the first study involving the application of the commonly used in-poultry houses disinfectants to inactivate or delay the embryogenesis of bird Ascarids. The future perspective will potentially involve the in-field applications of the efficient disinfectants to eliminate or reduce the dissemination of infections with bird Ascarids in the chicken, turkey, pigeons, and other poultry houses.

We aimed to describe incidence, trends of tuberculosis (TB) over 18 years and to evaluate the impact of the BCG vaccine after four decades of immunization program according to three protocols. We performed a cohort study including declared cases in Monastir from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2017. We reported 997 cases of TB. The predominant site was pulmonarylocalization (n = 486). The age standardized incidence of pulmonary and lymph node TB per 100,000 inh were 5.71 and 2.57 respectively. Trends were negative for pulmonary TB (PTB) (b = - 0.82; r = -0.67; p

Efforts to reduce immunosuppression in the solid tumor microenvironment by blocking the recruitment or polarization of tumor associated macrophages (TAM), or myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), have gained momentum in recent years. Expanding our knowledge of the immune cell types, cytokines, or recruitment factors that are associated with high-grade disease, both within the tumor and in circulation, is critical to identifying novel targets for immunotherapy. Furthermore, a better understanding of how therapeutic regimens, such as Dexamethasone (Dex), chemotherapy, and radiation, impact these factors will facilitate the design of therapies that can be targeted to the appropriate populations and retain efficacy when administered in combination with standard of care regimens. Here we perform quantitative analysis of tissue microarrays made of samples taken from grades I-III astrocytoma and glioblastoma (GBM, grade IV astrocytoma) to evaluate infiltration of myeloid markers CD163, CD68, CD33, and S100A9. Serum, flow cytometric, and Nanostring analysis allowed us to further elucidate the impact of Dex treatment on systemic biomarkers, circulating cells, and functional markers within tumor tissue. We found that common myeloid markers were elevated in Dex-treated grade I astrocytoma and GBM compared to non-neoplastic brain tissue and grade II-III astrocytomas. Cell frequencies in these samples differed significantly from those in Dex-naïve patients in a pattern that depended on tumor grade. In contrast, observed changes in serum chemokines or circulating monocytes were independent of disease state and were due to Dex treatment alone. Furthermore, these changes seen in blood were often not reflected within the tumor tissue. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the importance of considering perioperative treatment as well as disease grade when assessing novel therapeutic targets or biomarkers of disease.

Le cancer du sein est le cancer le plus fréquent chez la femme, et son pronostic dépend en grande partie de l'existence de métastases. Le foie, le squelette et les poumons en sont les sites les plus fréquents, alors que les métastases génitales semblent plus rares et moins connues. La découverte d'une masse ovarienne chez une femme présentant un antécédent de cancer du sein pose le problème de son origine primitive ou secondaire. La fréquence rapportée dans la littérature des métastases ovariennes est d'environ 20 à 30 %. Cependant, lorsque l'on découvre une masse ovarienne chez une femme atteinte de cancer du sein, il s'agit trois fois plus souvent d'une tumeur ovarienne primitive que d'une métastase. La localisation utérine cervicale ou corporéale est encore plus rare. Leur diagnostic est souvent tardif, en raison de leur latence clinique; l'échographie, notamment par voie endovaginale et couplée au Doppler couleur, et le Frottis cervico-utérin doivent être réalisés de première intention sachant que leur rendement pour leur dépistage des masses ovariennes semble très faible. L'augmentation des marqueurs tumoraux CA 15-3 et ACE doit conduire à la recherche de métastases, mais ne fournit pas d'orientation diagnostique vers un site métastatique précis. Enfin, c'est l'examen anatomopathologique qui permettra de poser le diagnostic avec certitude. Les auteurs rapportent 3 observations de métastases génitales de cancer primitif mammaire (deux ovariennes et une cervicale utérine) soulignent l'intérêt de l'examen génital précis et régulier dans la surveillance des cancers du sein et discutent les facteurs prédictifs de leur survenue.

In the title complex, chloridotetrakis(1H-imidazole-κN3)cobalt(II) chloride, [CoCl(C3H4N2)4]Cl, the CoII cation has a distorted square-pyramidal coordination environment. It is coordinated by four N atoms of four imidazole (Im) groups in the basal plane, and by a Cl atom in the apical position. It is isostructural with [Cu(Im)4Cl]Cl [Morzyk-Ociepa et al. (2012). J. Mol. Struct. 1028, 49–56] and [Cu(Im)4Br]Br [Hossaini Sadr et al. (2004). Acta Cryst. E60, m1324–m1326]. In the crystal, the [CoCl(C3H4N2)4]+ cations and Cl− anions are linked via N—H...Cl hydrogen bonds, forming layers parallel to (010). These layers are linked via C—H...Cl hydrogen bonds and C—H...π and π–π [inter-centroid distance = 3.794 (2) Å] interactions, forming a three-dimensional framework. The IR spectrum shows vibrational bands typical for imidazol groups. The monoclinic unit cell of the title compound emulates an orthorhombic cell as its β angle is close to 90°. The crystal is twinned, with the refined ratio of twin components being 0.569 (1):0.431 (1).

By inquiring the philosophical vocation, the religious disposition and the poetic speech like instances that can converge and articulate experiences, is where we discover profound similarities instead of differences. We focus on the work by the Lebanese-American poet Gibran Khalil Gibran, as an example of interaction between religious and philosophical thought made real through poetry and as proposal of ecumenism, because it is a synthesis between religious and both East and West cultural idiosyncrasy. The anthropological and aesthetic projection of this analysis, mainly hermeneutic, found some of the primordial meanings that cross the human condition, in the intimate relationship between homo religiosus and homo poeticus.

Background and objective: It is almost 40 years since the foundation of the Medical Oncology (MO) Department. We aimed to appraise the clinical research to fulfill the Medical Doctorate (MD) degree in MO at the National Cancer Institute, Cairo University (NCI, CU). Methods: This review included 62 MD theses containing 66 studies. They were reviewed regarding aims, type of study, clinical trial phase, design and methodology, statistical tests, results, limitations, consent and IRB approval. Theses were grouped into 3 periods: 1970–1989, 1990–1999 and 2000–2008. Results: Almost 76% of the studies were interventional and 24% were observational. Informed consent and Institutional Review Board approval were mentioned in 18 and 2 studies, respectively. While all studies mentioned the aims, none, clearly mentioned the research question. Outcomes were mainly efficacy followed by safety. Study design was inadequately considered, especially in 70’s–80’s period (p = 0.038). Median sample size and study duration were almost stable through the three periods (p = 0.441, 0.354, respectively). Most of the studies used both descriptive and analytical statistical methods. In a descending order, researched cancers were lymphoma, breast, leukemia, liver, urinary bladder, lung and colorectal. The commonest stages researched were IV and III. The number of studies focused on assessing biomarkers, biomarkers plus drugs/procedures, drugs and procedures are 20, 20, 16 and 6, respectively. Conclusion: With time, research within MD theses in MO increased quantitatively and qualitatively. Improvements were noticeable in documentation of study design.

Background: Hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC) is a common cancer worldwide as well as in Egypt with hepatitis B and C, alcohol and aflatoxins being the commonest risk factors. Tamoxifen was initially reported to confer a marginal survival benefit in advanced HCC. However, later reports declined any benefit. Objective: To study the impact of tamoxifen on overall survival (OS) compared to best supportive care (BSC) in Egyptian patients with advanced HCC. Methods: This retrospective matched-cohort study was conducted at Tanta Cancer Center (TCC), Egypt where 116 advanced HCC cases treated with tamoxifen were compared to TNM stage and Child-Pugh class matched 116 HCC cases who received BSC. Results: The median OS in the tamoxifen group was 9.3 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.7–11.9 months) compared to 8.7 months (95%CI, 6.8–10.6) in the BSC group (p = 0.758). With univariate analyses, it was shown that absence of fatigue, Child-Pugh class A, single tumors, less advanced tumors (T2), and absence of metastases (M0), had significantly better OS than their counterparts. Multivariate analysis showed that absence of fatigue, Child-Pugh class A and T2 tumors were independent prognostic factors affecting OS. Tamoxifen produced partial response and clinical stabilization in one% and 16% of cases, respectively. The median PFS with tamoxifen was 7.2 months (95%CI, 5.2–9.5). Conclusions: Tamoxifen did not show any OS advantage in Egyptian patients with advanced HCC. Use of this drug is discouraged.