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Introduction Paraplegia is the most significant overwhelming and unpredictable complication after spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury (SC-IRI) (Bashir et al. 2012). Conventional strategies for preventing paraplegia due to spinal cord ischemia [...], In this study, we investigated the effects of grape seed extract (GSE) on the expression of osteopontin (OPN) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in a rat model of spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury (SC-IRI). Fifty male rats were divided into 5 groups: control (CON); control + GSE (CON + GSE) (received GSE for 28 days); sham operated (Sham); IRI; and IRI + GSE. SC-IRI was induced by clamping the aorta just above the bifurcation for 45 min, and then the clamp was released for 48 h for reperfusion. IRI + GSE group received GSE for 28 days before SC-IRI. Sensory, motor, and placing/stepping reflex assessment was performed. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARs), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were measured in spinal cord homogenate. Immunohistochemical examination of the spinal cord for OPN and COX-2 were carried out. SC-IRI resulted in significant increase in plasma nitrite/nitrate level and spinal cord homogenate levels of TBARs and PGE2, and OPN and COX-2 expression with significant decrease in TAC. GSE improves the sensory and motor functions through decreasing OPN and COX-2 expression with reduction of oxidative stress parameters. We conclude a neuroprotective effect of GSE in SC-IRI through downregulating COX-2 and OPN expression plus its antioxidants effects. Key words: ischemia-reperfusion injury, grape seed extract, oxidative stress, osteopontin, cyclooxygenase-2. Dans cette etude, nous avons examine les effets de l'extrait de pepins de raisin (EPR) sur l'expression de l'osteopontine (OPN) et de la cycloxygenase-2 (COX-2) dans un modele de lesion d'ischemie-reperfusion de la moelle epiniere (LIR-ME) chez le rat. Pour ce faire, nous avons reparti 50 rats males dans 5 groups: temoin (Tem); temoin + EPR (Tem + EPR) (administration d'EPR pendant 28 jours); sham (intervention factice); LIR; et LIR + EPR. Nous avons induit les LIR-ME par une occlusion de l'aorte immediatement au-dessus de sa bifurcation pendant 45 min, suivie d'une levee de l'occlusion pour produire une reperfusion de 48 h. (Nous avions administre de l'EPR dans le groupe LIR + EPR pendant les 28 jours precedant l'induction de la LIR-ME.) Puis, nous avons evalue les reflexes sensitifs, moteurs et de l'enjambement (' placing/stepping '). Par ailleurs, nous avons mesure les taux de prostaglandine E2 (PGE2), des substances reagissant avec l'acide thiobarbiturique (TBAR) et la capacite antioxydante totale (TAC) dans des homogenats de moelle epiniere. Enfin, nous avons etudie l'expression de l'OPN et de la COX-2. Nous avons observe que la LIR-ME entrainait une augmentation marquee des taux plasmatiques de nitrites et de nitrates et, dans les homogenats de moelle epiniere, une augmentation notable des taux de TBARs et de PGE2 ainsi que de l'expression de l'OPN et de la COX-2 en tandem avec une diminution importante de la TAC. En revanche, l'administration d'EPR permettait d'ameliorer les fonctions sensorielles et motrices en diminuant l'expression de l'OPN et de la COX-2 tout en attenuant le stress oxydatif dont temoignaient les parametres etudies. Nous en arrivons a la conclusion que l'administration d'EPN entraine une regulation a la baisse de l'expression de la COX-2 et de l'OPN couplee avec des effets antioxydants, ce qui permet d'obtenir des effets neuropro tecteurs en presence d'une LIR-ME. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: lesion d'ischemie-reperfusion, extrait de pepins de raisin, stress oxydatif, osteopontine, cyclooxygenase-2.

Introduction Doxorubicin (DOX), an anthracycline antibiotic, is widely used in the treatment of a variety of solid and hematological malignancies. However, the clinical application of this chemotherapeutic drug is limited [...], The clinical application of doxorubicin is limited by its cardiotoxicity. The present study investigated the effect of valsartan on doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in rats. Rats were divided into 6 groups: control, control + valsartan (10 mg/kg, for 14 days, orally), doxorubicin-treated (2.5 mg/kg, 3 times/week for 2 weeks, intraperitoneally), valsartan then doxorubicin, valsartan + doxorubicin, and doxorubicin then valsartan. ECG, isolated heart, lipid peroxidation (thiobaribituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and Bax, Bcl-2, and senescence marker protein 30 (SMP30) gene expression were measured in cardiac tissue. Blood samples were collected to measure lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase MB (CK-MB). Doxorubicin significantly increased LDH, CK-MB, TBARS, heart rate (HR), Bax gene expression, and - dP/[dt.sub.max] and decreased TAC, Bcl-2 and SMP30 gene expression, left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), and +dP/[dt.sub.max]. Also, doxorubicin lengthened ST, QT, and QTc intervals. Concurrent or post- but not pre-treatment of doxorubicin-treated rats with valsartan reduced LDH, CK-MB, TBARS, HR, Bax gene expression, -dP/[dt.sub.max], and ST, QT, and QTc intervals and increased TAC, Bcl-2 and SMP30 gene expression, LVDP, and +dP/[dt.sub.max]. Therefore, we conclude that concurrent or post- but not pre- treatment of doxorubicin-induced rats with valsartan attenuated doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity through inhibiting oxidative stress, apoptosis, and senescence. Key words: doxorubicin, valsartan, oxidative stress, apoptosis, senescence. L'utilisation de la doxorubicine en clinique est limitee par ses effets cardiotoxiques. Dans le cadre des presents travaux, nous avons donc etudie les effets du valsartan sur la cardiotoxicite induite par la doxorubicine chez le rat. Les rats ont ete repartis en 6 groupes : temoin, temoin + valsartan (a 10 mg/kg PO pendant 14 jours), traitement avec la doxorubicine (a 2,5 mg/kg, 3 fois/semaine par voie i.p. pendant 2 semaines), valsartan puis doxorubicine, valsartan + doxorubicine et doxorubicine puis valsartan. Nous avons enregistre l'ECG, isole le creur et mesure les taux de peroxydation des lipides (TBARS pour <>), l'indice TAC (pour<>) et l'expression des genes Bax, Bcl-2 et de la proteine SMP30 (pour<>) dans le tissu cardiaque. Nous avons aussi preleve des echantillons de sang pour mesurer les taux de deshydrogenase lactique (LDH) et de creatine kinase MB (CK-MB). Nous avons observe que la doxorubicine entrainait une augmentation notable des taux de LDH, de CK-MB, de TBARS, de la frequence cardiaque (FC), de l'expression du gene Bax et de la -dP/[dt.sub.max] ainsi qu'une diminution de l'indice TAC, de l'expression des genes Bcl-2 et SMP30, de la pression developpee par le ventricule gauche (LVDP) et de la +dP/[dt.sub.max]. L'administration de doxorubicine entrainait aussi un allongement du segment ST et des intervalles QT et QTc. Pendant ou apres l'administration de valsartan--mais pas avant celleci --chez les rats traites avec la doxorubicine, nous avons observe une diminution des taux de LDH, de CK-MB et de TBARS, de la FC, de l'expression du gene Bax, de la -dP/[dt.sub.max] et de la duree du segment ST et des intervalles QT et QTc ainsi qu'une augmentation de l'indice TAC, de l'expression des genes Bcl-2 et SMP30, de la LVDP et de la +dP/[dt.sub.max]. Par consequent, nous en arrivons a la conclusion que pendant ou apres l'administration de valsartan--mais pas avant celle-ci--chez des rats pretraites avec la doxorubicine, la cardiotoxicite induite par la doxorubicine est attenuee par des effets inhibiteurs sur le stress oxydatif, l'apoptose et la senescence. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: doxorubicine, valsartan, stress oxydatif, apoptose, senescence.

Introduction Magnesium sulfate (MgS[O.sub.4]) has multiple effects on the physiological processes in the human body (Kang et al. 2011). It has a neuroprotective effect and decreases evoked potential of neurons [...], Inflammation is a major risk factor for cardiovascular complications. Magnesium sulfate (MgS[O.sub.4]) has anti- inflammatory actions. Therefore we investigated the effects of levothyroxine and MgS[O.sub.4] on inflammatory markers as C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in hypothyroid rats. Sixty male rats were divided into 6 groups; normal, normal + MgS[O.sub.4], hypothyroidism, hypothyroidism + levothyroxine, hypothyroidism + MgS[O.sub.4], and hypothyroidism + levothyroxine + MgS[O.sub.4]. Thyroxine, triiodothyronine, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), CRP, interleukin-6, TNF-α, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 were measured in all rats. Hypothyroidism significantly increased TSH, CRP, interleukin-6, TNF-α, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 and decreased triiodothronine and thyroxine. Treatment of hypothyroid rats with levothyroxine or MgS[O.sub.4] significantly decreased CRP, interleukin-6, TNF-α, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1. Combined therapy of hypothyroid rats with levothyroxine and MgS[O.sub.4] significantly decreased CRP, interleukin-6, TNF-α, ICAM-1, and VCAM-1 compared with hypothyroid rats either untreated or treated with levothyroxine or MgS[O.sub.4]. This study demonstrates that hypothyroid rats have chronic low grade inflammation, which may account for increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Combined levothyroxine and MgS[O.sub.4] is better than levothyroxine or MgS[O.sub.4] alone in alleviating the chronic low grade inflammatory status and therefore reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in hypothyroid animals. Key words: hypothyroidism, inflammatory markers, adhesion molecule, magnesium sulfate. Resume: On sait que l'inflammation est un facteur de risque majeur des complications d'ordre cardiovasculaire. Par ailleurs, on connait les proprietes anti-inflammatoires du sulfate de magnesium (MgS[O.sub.4]). Dans le contexte d'un modele d'hypothyroidie chez le rat, nous avons etudie les effets de la levothyroxine et du MgS[O.sub.4] sur les marqueurs de l'inflammation suivants : CRP (proteine C reactive), interleukine 6, TNF-α (facteur de necrose tumorale alpha), ICAM-1 (molecule d'adhesion intercellulaire 1), VCAM-1 (molecule d'adherence cellulaire vasculaire 1). Nous avons reparti 60 rats males dans les 6 groupes suivants: (i) normaux, (ii) normaux + MgS[O.sub.4], (iii) hypothyroidie, (iv) hypothyroidie + levothyroxine, (v) hypothyroidie +MgS[O.sub.4] et (vi) hypothyroidie + levothyroxine + MgS[O.sub.4]. Dans les 6 groupes, nous avons mesure les taux des substances suivantes: thyroxine, triiodothronine et TSH (thyreostimuline), CRP, interleukine 6, TNF-α, ICAM-1 et VCAM-1. L'hypothyroidie a entraine une augmentation des taux de TSH, de CRP, d'interleukine 6, de TNF-α, d'ICAM-1 et de VCAM-1 et diminue les taux de triiodothronine et de thyroxine de facon marquee dans tous les cas. Chez le rat, le traitement de l'hypothyroidie par la levothyroxine ou le MgS[O.sub.4] seuls a permis d'obtenir une nette diminution des taux des substances suivantes : CRP, interleukine 6, TNF-α, ICAM-1 et VCAM-1. Dans les groups d'hypothyroidie, nous avons observe que le traitement d'association par la levothyroxine avec le MgS[O.sub.4] permettait d'obtenir une diminution nettement plus marquee des taux de CRP, d'interleukine 6, de TNF-α, d'ICAM-1 et de VCAM-1 que dans les groupes sans traitement ou de rats traites par la levothyroxine ou le MgS[O.sub.4] en monotherapie. Dans cette etude chez le rat, nous montrons que l'hypothyroidie est associee a une legere inflammation qui pourrait expliquer l'accroissement du risque de maladie cardiovasculaire. En fait, dans un modele animal d'hypothyroidie, le traitement associant la levothyroxine avec le MgS[O.sub.4] permet d'attenuer la legere inflammation chronique et, par consequent, de reduire le risque de maladie cardiovasculaire, dans une plus grande mesure que leur administration separement. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: hypothyroidie, marqueurs de l'inflammation, molecule d'adherence, sulfate de magnesium.

Abstract Xeroderma Pigmentosum C is a dermal hereditary disease caused by a mutation in the DNA damage recognition protein XPC that belongs to the Nucleotide excision repair pathway. XPC patients display heightened sensitivity to light and an inability to mend DNA damage caused by UV radiation, resulting in the accumulation of lesions that can transform into mutations and eventually lead to cancer. To address this issue, we conducted a screening of siRNAs targeting human kinases, given their involvement in various DNA repair pathways, aiming to restore normal cellular behavior. We introduced this siRNA library into both normal and XPC patient-derived fibroblasts, followed by UVB exposure to induce DNA damage. We assessed the reversal of the XPC phenotype by measuring reduced photosensitivity and enhanced DNA repair. Among the 1292 kinase-targeting siRNAs screened, twenty-eight showed significant improvement in cellular survival compared to cells transfected with non-targeting siRNA after UV exposure in XPC cells. From these candidates, PIK3C3 and LATS1 were identified as particularly effective, promoting over 20% repair of 6-4 photoproduct (6-4PP) DNA lesions. Specifically targeting the autophagy-related protein PIK3C3 alone demonstrated remarkable photoprotective effects in XPC-affected cells, which were validated in primary XPC patient fibroblasts and CRISPR-Cas9 engineered XPC knockout keratinocytes. PIK3C3 knock down in XP-C cells ameliorated in UVB dose response analysis, decreased apoptosis with no effect on proliferation. More importantly, PIK3C3 knock down was found to induce an increase in UVRAG expression, a previously reported cDNA conveying lower photosensitivity in XP-C cells. Thus, attempts to improve the XPC photosensitive and deficient repair phenotype using PIK3C3 inhibitors could pave a way for new therapeutic approaches delaying or preventing tumor initiation.

Background:Advanced echocardiographic techniques play a crucial role in evaluating right ventricular function and providing valuable information for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-related cardiovascular complications. Objectives:To investigate early signs of right ventricle dysfunction in patients with RA using tissue Doppler imaging and two- dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (GLS). Materials and Methods: This case–control study examined cardiac changes in 50 RA patients compared to 50 healthy controls. Echocardiography and anthropometric measurements were used to assess ejection fraction, ventricle systolic and diastolic function, and myocardial strain. Results:The study examined socio-demographic characteristics and echocardiographic parameters in RA patients (N = 50) compared to controls. RA patients had a mean age of 48.28 ± 11.06 years, with 74.0% females. No significant differences in age, BMI, and body surface area between RA patients and controls. There were no significant mean differences between the two study groups according to ejection fraction. There is a significant difference in right ventricular systolic function (TAPSE, S^ velocity, and MPI) observed in RA patients. There is a significant difference in right ventricular diastolic function (E/A ratio, IVRT) observed in RA patients. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) was also significantly reduced. The treatment strategy (single vs. combination therapy) did not significantly affect echocardiographic parameters. The findings emphasize the importance of monitoring cardiac health in RA patients. RA patients show cardiac function alterations, particularly in right ventricular systolic function (TAPSE, S^, and MPI), right ventricular diastolic function (E/A ratio, IVRT), and global function (GLS). Conclusion:Monitoring cardiovascular health in RA patients is crucial. Treatment regimens (combination or monotherapy) did not significantly affect the measured echocardiographic parameters.

This study aimed to investigate farmers' attitudes and skills of farm management. Two scales were constructed as an instrument for data collection, based on a sample of 100 farm units. Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.84 or higher, which indicated that the instrument scales were internally consistent. Non-parametric tests were used to analyze the data. Operators appeared to be largely commercial, but they did not highly rate the significance of farming as a business, or their level of management skills. Two-thirds of respondents perceived technical skills as the key to success. Poor management skills limit the operators' ability in making informed decisions, planning and analyzing the financial performance of their operations. Farm management extension enhances farmers' willingness and ability to make successful changes to their management practice. Improvement programs have to be targeted to the groups of operators who are more favorable to management extension, that is, full-time farmers, renters, the more experienced, the educated and the more dependent on farm income. (Contains 8 tables.)

Introduction: Many treatment-related adverse effects affect children. The drug's features determine the treatment-related side effect. These side effects can have a variety of physical and psychological consequences for cancer patients, lowering their quality of life. Objective: the present study aimed to determine the Quality of Life for children under Chemotherapy. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study design carried out in Basrah, Iraq Specialized Hospital for Children the present study was conducted on the Childs who treat under chemotherapy. A Non - probability (purposive) sample of (100) child selected. All the patients diagnosed as Cancer. The Study Instrument is a questionnaire that was created and designed after extensive reviews of the available literature and related studies. Consisting of [34] questions. The study tool consists of three parts. The first part includes the demographic characteristics of the participants of the study sample, while the second part includes the physical aspect of the children undergoing chemotherapy, and the third part includes the psychosocial aspect. Results: present study shows majority of child's age were (10 yrs.), (51 %) of study sample was (Male), most of parents was primary education, majority of study sample was (insufficient) economic status, majority of fathers was of (free work), and mother was housewives. The quality of life child moderate meaning that it was acceptable but we need to develop. Conclusion: The current study indicated that chemotherapy has a mild effect on a child's quality of life and that the demographic variables do not appear to have significant link with quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

هدفت هذه الدراسة للكشف عن درجة استخدام مدرسي اللغة العربية في محافظة الأنبار لأساليب التقويم الأصيل من وجهة نظر المدرسين والمشرفين التربويين . وقد بلغت عينة الدراسة (155) مدرساً ومدرسةً تمَّ اختيارهم بنسبة (10%) من مجتمع الدراسة الكلي ، و(30) مشرفاً تربوياً تم اختيارهم بصورة عشوائية بسيطة. ولتحقيق أهداف الدراسة استخدم الباحثان المنهج الوصفي ، وتكونت أداة الدراسة من الاستبانة، إذ تكونت من (44) فقرة للمدرسين فضلاً عن المشرفين التربويين موزعة على سبعة مجالات، وقد جرى تطبيقها على أفراد عينة الدراسة. وأظهرت النتائج أن درجة استخدام مدرسي اللغة العربية في محافظة الأنبار لأساليب التقويم الأصيل من وجهة نظر المدرسين والمشرفين التربويين جاءت متوسطة، وجاء مجال " ملفات الانجاز" بالمرتبة الأولى، بينما جاء مجال " تقويم الأقران" بالمرتبة الأخيرة. كما وأظهرت الدراسة وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية تعزى لدرجة المقوِّم لصالح المشرف. وفي ضوء النتائج توصَّلت الدراسة إلى متعددة توصيات أبرزها إقامة دورات تدريبية مكثفة للمدرسين، تُركز على أساليب التقويم الأصيل، وأهميتها، من أجل الرقي بالمستوى التعليمي.