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Environmental toxins pose significant threats to ecosystems and human health. Monitoring and assessing these toxins are crucial for effective environmental management and public health protection. Recently, plant species have garnered increasing attention as potential bioindicators for identifying and evaluating ecological toxins. Since plants often come into touch with harmful compounds in soil, water, and the atmosphere, they are particularly valuable for analyzing how human activities influence the terrestrial ecosystem, the aquatic system, and the atmosphere. This review paper emphasizes using plant species as a resource for tracking environmental pollution and analyzing contaminants. We focused on plants because they are significant indicators of soil, water, and air quality changes. Many plants have been used as bio-indicators to assess and predict pollution, toxicity, and environmental changes. These include Allium cepa, Vicia faba, Pisum sativum, Zea mays, Nicotiana tabacum, lichens, and mosses. The idea of bioindicators is discussed in the current paper, with a focus on plants as possible candidates for bioindicators for toxin assessment and related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biodeterioration of archaeological mummies is a severe issue, where fungi are the most significant agents deteriorating them. The inhibitory effect of [1,2,4]triazolo[3,4-a]isoquinoline chalcone derivatives on the growth of thirteen deteriorated fungal species (Aspergillus flavus, A. niger, A. terreus, Athelia bombacina, Aureobasidium iranianum, Byssochlamys spectabilis, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. ramotenellum, Penicillium crustosum, P. polonicum, Talaromyces atroroseus, T. minioluteus, and T. purpureogenus), which isolated and identified from ancient Egyptian mummy cartonnage located in El-Lahun regions, Fayoum government, Egypt were investigated. Antifungal activity and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the tested four chalcone derivatives with different concentrations (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 mg/ml) were measured. The most efficient chalcone derivatives are chalcone derivative number 4 which causes the maximum significant inhibition in the growth of the thirteen isolated fungal species with MIC ranging from 1 to 3 mg/ml followed by chalcone derivatives number 6 with MIC ranging from 2 to 5 mg/ml. The use of chalcone derivative number 4 for the preservation of cultural assets should be considered for future applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is the most common personality disorder, affecting 1.8% of the general population, 10% of psychiatric outpatients, and 15%–25% of psychiatric inpatients. Practice guidelines recommend psychotherapies as first-line treatments. However, psychotherapies commonly used for the treatment of BPD are numerous, and little is known about the comparative effectiveness of each individual psychotherapy versus treatment as usual (TAU) or other psychotherapies. To systematically assess the comparative effectiveness of commonly used psychotherapies versus TAU or versus other psychotherapies for BPD treatment. Method: We conducted systematic literature searches in MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and APA PsycINFO up to July 14, 2022, and searched reference lists of pertinent articles and reviews. Inclusion criteria were (a) patients 13 years or older with a diagnosis of BPD, (b) treatment with commonly used psychotherapies, (c) comparison with TAU or another psychotherapy, (d) assessment of relevant BPD-related health outcomes, and (e) randomized or nonrandomized trials or controlled observational studies. Two investigators independently screened abstracts and full-text articles and graded the certainty of evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. Results: We found 25 psychotherapy studies meeting inclusion criteria with data on 2,545 participants. Seventeen studies compared nine psychotherapies with TAU and nine studies compared eight psychotherapies with another psychotherapy for the treatment of BPD. Overall, both TAU and included psychotherapies were effective in treating the severity and symptoms of BPD. Moderate certainty of evidence suggests that systems training for emotional predictability and problem solving is more effective than TAU for the treatment of BPD; low certainty of evidence suggests that dialectical behavior therapy, schema therapy, transference-focused psychotherapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, manual-assisted cognitive therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy are more effective than TAU for treating BPD. We were unable to draw conclusions from head-to-head comparisons of psychotherapies, which were limited to single studies with very low to low certainty of evidence. Conclusions: All commonly used psychotherapies improve BPD severity, symptoms, and functioning. Our assessment found no strong evidence suggesting that any one psychotherapy is more beneficial than another. What is the public health significance of this article?: For clinicians, this work can be used to inform practice guidelines on psychotherapies to treat BPD. For funders, policymakers, and researchers, this work identifies research gaps and opportunities for future research in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The most common reason for cancer-related mortality in women is ovarian cancer. Among all histological types, the serous carcinoma is the commonest. Immunotherapy has developed to be used in treating different cancers; among which Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors (ICIs) demonstrated great role in such cases. One of the significant challenges in cancer treatment is the selection of studied cases who will benefit from ICIs. It is established that ICI sensitivity in malignancies can be predicted using Programmed Cell Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Prior research has confirmed a correlation among PD-L1 expression in ovarian tumours and Tumour Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs). However, regrettably, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved use of anti-programmed cell death ligand 1 (anti- PD-L1) in the treatment of ovarian cancer. Aim and Scope: This study assesses an immunohistochemical expression of PD-L1 in ovarian serous carcinoma to testify its usage as a prognostic and predictive marker. We also investigate its association with tumor grade, TILs, clinico-pathological prognostic factors, and studied case's survival. Materials and Method: This work is retrospective research performed upon 100 cases of surgically resected ovarian serous carcinomas. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for PD-L1 was applied to such biopsies then assessed and scored. TILs were also assessed using Haematoxylin and Eosin-stained slides. Finally, the outcomes were tabulated for statistical analysis. Results: In this research, elevated PD-L1 expression had been significantly related to aggressive features of tumor including older age group, larger tumor size, higher tumor grade, advanced International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO) stage and shorter patients' mean survival time. On the other hand, tumors with positive TILs were significantly associated with younger age group, smaller tumor size, lower tumor grade, early FIGO stage and longer mean survival time. Consistently, PD-L1 overexpression show statistically significant association with tumors showing negative TILs (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: We observed PD-L1 overexpression in aggressive features of ovarian serous carcinomas suggesting its poor prognostic and predictive role in such cases that require further studies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Functional non-retentive fecal incontinence (FNRFI) is a psychologically upsetting and embarrassing issue and affects children's quality of life negatively. Aim of this study: Evaluation of the short and long-term effect of Bilateral transcutaneous posterior tibial nerve stimulation (BTPTNS) in the treatment of FNRFI in children and its impact on the quality of life (QoL). Methodology: The current randomized controlled study included 94 Children with FNRFI who were randomly allocated into two equal groups. Group A received BTPTNS and Group B Received Sham BTPTNS. Follow-up was planned for 24 months for manometric findings, incontinence score, Incontinence episodes, and the QoL. Results: The incontinence score was significantly decreases in Group A more than what was reported in Group B at 6, 12, 24 months follow up. In group A 53.2% of the included children who received BTPTNS showed a decrease in the incontinence episodes more than 75% and among them, 23.4% were fully continent. All the QoL domains were significantly improved in Group A after 6, 12, and 24 months when compared with Group B. Conclusion: BTPTNS can be a good modality in the treatment of FNRFI with favorable long-term maintenance of its effect together with a remarkable positive impact on all domains of QoL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To examine the effects of training general practitioners and nurses in shared decision-making (SDM) support as perceived by cancer patients and survivors. Design: An innovative, experimental design was adopted that included analogue patients (APs), that is, people who have or have had cancer and who imagine themselves in the position of the actor-patient presented in a video. Each AP assessed a video-recorded simulated consultation of a health care professional (HCP) conducted before or after an SDM support training program. The primary outcome was the APs' perceived SDM support with 13 self-developed items reflecting the perceived patient benefit of SDM support as well as the perceived HCP support behavior. Secondary outcomes included an overall rating of SDM support, AP-reported extent of SDM (CollaboRATE), satisfaction with the communication (Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire), conversation appreciation and helpfulness, as well as decision-making satisfaction and confidence (visual analog scale, 0–100). In addition, patient and HCP characteristics associated with AP-perceived SDM support were examined. Results: APs (n = 131) did not significantly differentiate trained from untrained HCPs in their perceptions of SDM support nor in secondary outcomes. Agreement between APs' perceptions was poor. The higher the perceived comparability of the consultation with APs' previous personal experiences, the higher their rating of SDM support. Limitations: We used a nonvalidated primary outcome and an innovative study design that should be tested in future work. Conclusions: Despite the limitations of the study design, the training seemed to not affect cancer patients' and survivors' perceived SDM support. Implications: The clinical relevance of the training on SDM support needs to be established. The variation in APs' assessments suggests patients differ in their perception of SDM support, stressing the importance of patient-tailored SDM support. Highlights: Cancer patients and survivors did not significantly differentiate trained from untrained HCPs when evaluating SDM support, and agreement between their perceptions was poor. The clinical relevance of training GPs and nurses in SDM support needs to be established. Patient-tailored SDM support may be recommended, given the variation in APs' assessments and their possible diverging perceptions of SDM support. This innovative study design (having patients watch and assess videos of simulated consultations made in the context of training evaluation) needs to be further developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims to explain the nature of the relationship between the dimensions of strategic cohesion, represented by (strategic logic, organizational excitement, organizational founding, organizational synergy) and organizational prosperity, represented by (intellectual capital, innovation, infrastructure, organizational agility, and sustainable competitive advantage) in the National Insurance Company. The questionnaire was adopted as a tool for collecting data and information from a sample of (64) who were in the position of (General Manager, Branch Manager, Department Manager, Department Manager, Division Officer, Unit Officer) and the statistical program (SPSS v.25) was used. The research reached a number of conclusions, the most prominent of which were: - There is a moderate positive correlation between strategic cohesion and organizational prosperity, and there are also differences in the research sample’s response to the questionnaire items according to personal variables (job position). The research recommends increasing awareness and education to enhance the role and importance of strategic cohesion in the minds of employees of the researched company in achieving organizational prosperity, through holding seminars, conferences and organizing workshops in this regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We aimed to investigate the possible association between the continuation of statin treatment and the mortality, length of the ICU stay, and need for mechanical ventilation in critically ill COVID-19 cases. Methods: This study enrolled 1860 adult patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 who were critically ill. The cases' medical records were categorized into two groups including comorbidities. The statin group included 930 patients who previously received statins and continued this treatment during ICU admission. The non-statin group included 930 patients who previously received statins but stopped taking this treatment during ICU admission. The primary endpoints were mortality and length of ICU stay. Secondary endpoints included the mechanical ventilation's period, subsequent complications, and D-dimer and ferritin serum levels. Results: The age, sex, comorbidities, and COVID-19 CO-RADS classification showed no significant differences between the studied groups. Among all patients who received statin and among comorbidities subgroups, mortality was significantly reduced, and the length of ICU stay was considerably prolonged in the non-survivors, but it was significantly shortened in the survivors. The duration of mechanical ventilation was prolonged in the non-survivor but shortened in the survivors. The serum ferritin level was significantly reduced among the statin group. Conclusion: In severely ill COVID-19 cases, continuation of statin therapy during ICU admission reduces the patients' mortality and enhances their survival. Hence, if a patient has a history of statin use, physicians should consider maintaining them on their current medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]