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Laryngotracheal trauma is a relatively rare traumatic injury seen particularly in young male adults. Trauma due to strangulation is one of its most frequent circumstances. However rare, pneumomediastinum is a particular complication of severe blunt neck injuries leading to alveolar ruptures. This phenomenon, described as the Macklin effect, requires early diagnosis, and its management varies from conservative to surgical treatment depending on the severity of symptoms. Our aim is to describe the case of a 21-year-old male who presented with blunt neck trauma. Clinical and imaging findings revealed subcutaneous neck emphysema and pneumomediastinum. Treatment was conservative leading to complete resolution of the injuries and the patient was discharged after 2 weeks.

Primary lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the salivary glands is an exceptional oncological condition that predominantly emerges within the parotid gland. A significant prevalence of lymphoepithelial carcinoma has been reported in the Inuit population, along with an associated positive serology for Epstein-Barr virus in these endemic regions. In this paper, we present a case of primary lymphoepithelial carcinoma of the parotid gland in a 68-year-old female patient with a history of diabetes and hypertension residing in a non-endemic area. Histology plays a critical role in the definitive diagnosis, and confirming the primary origin of lymphoepithelial carcinoma after ruling out metastasis from undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The mainstay of treatment is a combination of surgical resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. Inoperable forms are typically managed with chemoradiotherapy.

Aims: The present study investigated receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG), and Runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) gene expressions in giant cell tumour of bone (GCTB) patients in relationship with tumour recurrence. We also aimed to investigate the influence of CpG methylation on the transcriptional levels of RANKL and OPG. Methods: A total of 32 GCTB tissue samples were analyzed, and the expression of RANKL, OPG, and RUNX2 was evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The methylation status of RANKL and OPG was also evaluated by quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction (qMSP). Results: We found that RANKL and RUNX2 gene expression was upregulated more in recurrent than in non-recurrent GCTB tissues, while OPG gene expression was downregulated more in recurrent than in non-recurrent GCTB tissues. Additionally, we proved that changes in DNA methylation contribute to upregulating the expression of RANKL and downregulating the expression of OPG, which are critical for bone homeostasis and GCTB development. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the overexpression of RANKL/RUNX2 and the lower expression of OPG are associated with recurrence in GCTB patients. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2024;13(2):84–91.

Sleep health inequalities represent an increasing public health concern. Among multiple determinants affecting sleep health, there is people’s socioeconomic status (SES), and no systematic review on the relationship between SES and sleep health has been previously conducted in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Following the Prisma protocol, ten articles were selected. Findings revealed that the combined number of participants was N = 37,455 participants, including 73.23% of children and adolescents (n = 27,670) and 26.77% of adults (n = 10,026). The smallest sample was N = 715 and the larger was N = 13,486. In all these studies, sleep variables were assessed using self-reported questionnaires. The studies conducted in Iran assessed the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), while those in Saudi Arabia were interested in sleep duration, nap time, bedtime, rise time and insomnia. The studies performed on adult populations in Iran and Saudi Arabia concluded that there is no significant association between SES determinants and sleep components in adult populations. One study in Iran found a significant association between parent’s low SES and children and adolescent insomnia; and one study in Saudi Arabia found a significant association between the father’s education and the longer sleep duration of their children. More longitudinal studies are necessary to establish a causal relationship between public health policies and sleep health inequalities. An extension of the investigation to more sleep disturbances is required to cover the entirety of sleep health inequalities in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

This study aimed to depict the oxidative status variation in judokas during aerobic-dominant mixed effort (AeDME) and anaerobic-dominant mixed effort (AnDME). It is to be expected that the sporting commitment of Judo is a stimulus of oxidative stress leading to the recruitment of antioxidant responses. Blood samples were collected from 17 athletes at rest, immediately after a training session (AeDME) and after a 5-min bout (AnDME). AeDME and AnDME caused significant increases in malondialdehyde (MDA) (p

The emerging concept of small conductance Ca2+-activated potassium channels (SKCa) as pharmacological target for cancer treatment has significantly increased in recent years. In this study, we isolated the P01 toxin from Androctonus australis (Aa) scorpion venom and investigated its effect on biological properties of glioblastoma U87, breast MDA-MB231 and colon adenocarcinoma LS174 cancer cell lines. Our results showed that P01 was active only on U87 glioblastoma cells. It inhibited their proliferation, adhesion and migration with IC50 values in the micromolar range. We have also shown that P01 reduced the amplitude of the currents recorded in HEK293 cells expressing SK2 channels with an IC50 value of 3 pM, while it had no effect on those expressing SK3 channels. The investigation of the SKCa channels expression pattern showed that SK2 transcripts were expressed differently in the three cancer cell lines. Particularly, we highlighted the presence of SK2 isoforms in U87 cells, which could explain and rely on the specific activity of P01 on this cell line. These experimental data highlighted the usefulness of scorpion peptides to decipher the role of SKCa channels in the tumorigenesis process, and develop potential therapeutic molecules targeting glioblastoma with high selectivity.

As industrialization and globalization have advanced in recent years, an expanding volume of textile dye effluent and pharmaceutical wastewater has been discharged into the environment. Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) and its combination with other advanced processes such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), were studied in this work for the removal of textile dye effluent from aqueous media. The effect of different molar ratio of H2O2 dose was examined. The experimental tests were carried out at pH_ value= 2 and input pressure p_in=4.5 bar, with a mix of three types of textile wastewater sampled at different treatment times. The concentration of H2O2 was varied from 0.1 M to 0.9 M. The evaluation of the efficiency of the combined process, in the removal of color and COD from textile wastewater, was investigated. The results showed that the degradation of textile wastewater using HC and HC in combination with other advanced oxidation process (AOP’s) followed a pseudo-first-order reaction kinetic. Under the following operative conditions of pH_ value= 2 and input pressure p_in=4.5 bar, the HC + H2O2 process demonstrated a greater efficiency of 88%, 37%, and 65% the chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction in 60 minutes for (0.3, 0.7 and 0.9 mol/L,) of H2O2, respectively. combined process could be a useful technology for treating textile wastewater.

Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is associated with cardiovascular diseases. Mean platelet volume has emerged as a marker of prothrombotic conditions and cardiovascular risk. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the mean platelet volume and cardiovascular diseases in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Methods: The medical records of 207 patients were analyzed. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome was diagnosed by polygraphy, and patients were classified according to apnea–hypopnea index: control group: individuals with simple snoring (apnea–hypopnea index

Achieving a balanced energy and spectral resource utilization is an interesting key design to extend the lifetime of underground wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) where sensor nodes are equipped with small limited energy batteries and communicate through a challenging soil environment. In this article, we apply an improved meta-heuristic algorithm, based on the Salp Swarm Algorithm (SSA), for multi-relay UWSNs where cooperative relay nodes amplify and forward sensed data, received from the buried source nodes, to the aboveground base station. Hence, the optimal nodes transmission powers, maximizing the network resource efficiency, are obtained and used to select beneficial relay nodes. The algorithm enhances the standard SSA by considering the chaotic map for salps population initialization and the uniform crossover technique for salps positions updates. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms the SSA in resource efficiency optimization and network lifetime extension. The obtained gain increases when the number of cooperative relay nodes increases. Furthermore, simulations prove the efficiency of the proposed algorithm against other meta-heuristic algorithms.

Highlights The characterization of S. persica (Salvadora persica) extract, which involved evaluating its antibacterial activity, demonstrated the extract's strong efficacy. Additionally, incorporating it into PMMA/HA showcased the composite's good antibacterial activity. The objective of this work is to evaluate how the incorporation of S. persica extract affects the wear resistance of the dental composite PMMA/HA, considering the critical importance of wear resistance in dental applications. The wear response of this biocomposite was tested against an Alumina ball using a pin‐on‐disc tribometer. Initially, the hydroxyapatite (HA) micro particles demonstrate a remarkable influence on wear behavior when incorporated at an optimal percentage (10%wt). This optimal inclusion rate not only significantly increases the wear rate but also instigates a shift in the wear mechanism, favoring abrasive wear while minimizing adhesive wear comparing to PMMA. The addition of the extract nanoparticles to the composite PMMA/HA decreases the wear rate except the composite containing 10 wt% of each filler. Additionally, it introduces adhesive wear, in addition to the existing fatigue and abrasion wear. Thus, the composite PMMA/HA could accommodate up to 10 wt% of the S. persica extract as the optimal percentage that provides antibacterial activity to this biocomposite without exhibiting a deterioration in wear performance. The evaluation of the effect of incorporating S. persica extract, which provides antibacterial activity, on the wear resistance of the PMMA/HA dental composite generally demonstrates a reduction in this property. The addition of S. persica extract introduces adhesive wear in addition to the fatigue and abrasion wear already present in the PMMA/HA composite. The composite PMMA/HA can accommodate up to 10 wt% of S. persica extract without compromising its wear performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) had launched the Framework convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003 in order to curve the epidemic of tobacco use worldwide. Since most smokers begin to smoke before the age of 18 years, Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) has been developed in order to monitor tobacco smoking among adolescents. Our aim was to assess smoking among Tunisian youth using GYTS 2017 data. Methods GYTS is cross-sectional, two cluster school-based survey to produce a representative sample of students aged 13–15 years. It was conducted in 2017 in 67 secondary schools in Tunisia. The investigation tool was an anonymously answered questionnaire, which contained core questions about six majors tobacco related topics. Results Lifetime cigarettes and waterpipe prevalence were 7.8% (14.4% of boys, 1.6% of girls, p

Abstract Herein we report the intriguing case of a 42‐year‐old woman presenting with grade three hypertension, severe hypokalemia and primary amenorrhea, which revealed to be the complete form of 17 alphahydroxylase deficiency. We also discuss the challenging therapeutic approach as well as the outcomes and the follow‐up of this patient.

BackgroundThis trial aimed to assess the efficacy of Atorvastatin reloading on the prevention of Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients pre-treated with this statin and undergoing coronary catheterization.MethodsThis was a prospective randomized controlled study including patients on chronic atorvastatin therapy. We randomly assigned the population to the Atorvastatin Reloading group (AR group), by reloading patients with 80 mg of atorvastatin one day before and three days after the coronary procedure, and the Non-Reloading group (NR group), including patients who received their usual dose without a reloading dose. The primary endpoints were the incidence of cystatin (Cys)-based CIN and Creatinine (Scr)-based CIN. The secondary endpoints consisted of the changes in renal biomarkers (Δ biomarkers) defined as the difference between the follow-up level and the baseline level.ResultsOur population was assigned to the AR group (n = 56 patients) and NR group (n = 54 patients). The baseline characteristics of the 2 groups were similar. Serum creatinine (SCr)-based CIN occurred in 11.1% in the NR group, and in 8.9% in the AR group without any significant difference. Cys-based CIN occurred in 37% in the NR group and 26.8% in the AR group without any significant difference. The subgroup analysis showed that high dose reloading had significantly reduced the CYC-based CIN risk in patients with type 2 diabetes (43.5% vs 18.8%, RR = 0.43. CI 95% [0.18-0.99])). The comparison of "Δ Cystatin" and Δ eGFR between the AR and NR groups didn't show any significant difference. However, cystatin C had significantly increased between baseline and at 24 hours in the NR group (0.96 vs 1.05, p = 0.001), but not in the AR group (0.94 vs 1.03, p = 0.206).ConclusionsOur study did not find a benefit of systematic atorvastatin reloading in patients on chronic atorvastatin therapy in preventing CIN. However, it suggested that this strategy could reduce the risk of CyC-based CIN in diabetic type 2 patients.

Abstract Background The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to constitute an international public health concern. Few data are available on the duration and prognostic factors of the disease. We aimed to study the recovery time among a Tunisian cohort of COVID-19 confirmed patients and identify the prognostic factors. Methods A retrospective, nationwide study was conducted from March 2 to May 8, 2020, recruiting all patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19, by RT-PCR methods, in Tunisia. Data were collected via phone call interview. Kaplan-Meir Methods and Cox proportional hazards regression models were, respectively, used to study the recovery time and estimate its prognostic factors. Results One thousand and thirty patients with COVID-19 (aged 43.2 ± 18.2 years, 526 female (51.1%)) were enrolled. Among them 141 (14.8%) were healthcare professionals. Out of 173 patients (17.8%) admitted to the hospital, 47 were admitted in an intensive care unit. Among 827 patients who didn’t require specialized care, 55.5% were self-isolated at home, while the rest were in specialized centers. Six hundred and two patients were symptomatic. A total of 634 (61.6%) patients have recovered and 45 (4.4%) patients died. The median duration of illness was estimated to be 31 days (95% CI: [29–32]). Older age (HR = 0.66, CI:[0.46–0.96], P = 0.031) and symptoms (HR = 0.61, CI:[0.43–0.81], P = 0.021) were independently associated with a delay in recovery time. Being a healthcare professional (HR = 1.52, CI: [1.10–2.08], P = 0.011) and patients in home isolation compared to isolation centers (HR = 2.99, CI: [1.85–4.83], P

Abstract Background Describing transmission dynamics of the outbreak and impact of intervention measures are critical to planning responses to future outbreaks and providing timely information to guide policy makers decision. We estimate serial interval (SI) and temporal reproduction number (Rt) of SARS-CoV-2 in Tunisia. Methods We collected data of investigations and contact tracing between March 1, 2020 and May 5, 2020 as well as illness onset data during the period February 29–May 5, 2020 from National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases of Tunisia. Maximum likelihood (ML) approach is used to estimate dynamics of Rt. Results Four hundred ninety-one of infector-infectee pairs were involved, with 14.46% reported pre-symptomatic transmission. SI follows Gamma distribution with mean 5.30 days [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 4.66–5.95] and standard deviation 0.26 [95% CI 0.23–0.30]. Also, we estimated large changes in Rt in response to the combined lockdown interventions. The Rt moves from 3.18 [95% Credible Interval (CrI) 2.73–3.69] to 1.77 [95% CrI 1.49–2.08] with curfew prevention measure, and under the epidemic threshold (0.89 [95% CrI 0.84–0.94]) by national lockdown measure. Conclusions Overall, our findings highlight contribution of interventions to interrupt transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Tunisia.

Abstract Pemphigus herpetiformis (PH) is a rare form of pemphigus, especially when occurring in childhood. Misdiagnosis is common in this age group. The disease exhibits diverse clinical and histological aspects. Further immunological investigations should be performed in order to make the right diagnosis with a correct management strategy.