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BACKGROUND: Thalassemia is the most common human monogenic disease in the world, associated with several consequences, including recurrent infections, many studies have demonstrated a high prevalence of infection among individuals with thalassemia accounting for about 10% of cases. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to detect the effect of serum iron imbalance on the prevalence of infection in thalassemia patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This research was conducted in the Thalassemia Teaching Department at Al Karama Hospital, between March and October 2023. The case–control study was conducted by comparing 60 people with thalassemia with 60 other people who were not thalassemic but suffering from fever and similar symptoms. Through examining urine, sputum, blood, and skin swab samples, samples with a positive result for the bacteria were identified, their sensitivity to antibiotics was examined, and these results were compared with the control group. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus, three types of the most common bacteria were chosen for testing due to the limited resources. RESULTS: Control groups of 20 males and 30 females with a mean age of 20 ± 4.5 years compared to 60 nonthalassemia febrile patients classified into 34 males and 26 females with the same age range as control groups. It was discovered that the majority of thalassemia patients are infected with E. coli bacteria. It also depends in its infection rate on an imbalance in the level of iron in the blood, whether it is increased, as in thalassemia, or decreased in cases of iron deficiency anemia that E. coli bacteria is the type that most infects thalassemia patients. CONCLUSION: Common species of bacteria responsible for infection in thalassemia patients represented by E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus associated with serum iron level changes highlighting the need for additional research into the impact of iron imbalance on infections. The study found that imipenem and meropenem had a profound effect on the vast majority of bacterial species involved in thalassemia.

One of the most interesting issues in the study of language is the relation between language and gender. A lot of studies have been conducted so far to find out if men speak and write differently from women. The present study is also an attempt in the same area but it considers gender differences in love poetry. It aims to find out the differences between male and female poets in their love poems. The data of the study consists of three male love poems, and three female poems. Leech and Short's (1981) checklist is used as a framework to analyze the selected love poems. The findings of the study reveal that there are differences between male and female poets with regard to lexical categories, grammatical categories and figures of speech.

Mehreen Bashir,1 Junaid Ahmad,1 Muhammad Asif,2 Salah-Ud-Din Khan,3 Muhammad Irfan,1 Asim Y Ibrahim,4 Sajid Asghar,1 Ikram Ullah Khan,1 Muhammad Shahid Iqbal,5 Abdul Haseeb,6 Syed Haroon Khalid,1 Mohammed AS Abourehab7,8 1Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan; 2Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, Pakistan; 3Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 4Faculty of Pharmacy, Omdurman Islamic University, Omdurman, Sudan; 5Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia; 6Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 21955, Saudi Arabia; 7Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia; 8Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Minia University, Minia, EgyptCorrespondence: Syed Haroon KhalidDepartment of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Government College University, Faisalabad, 38000, PakistanTel +92-3166752223Email syedharoonkhalid@gcuf.edu.pkPurpose: Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disorder that directly affects joints. However, other body organs including heart, eyes, skin, blood vessels and lungs may also be affected. The purpose of this study was to design and evaluate a nanoemulgel formulation of diflunisal (DIF) and solubility enhanced diflunisal (DIF-IC) for enhanced topical anti-inflammatory activity.Methodology: Nanoemulsion formulations of both DIF and DIF-IC were prepared and incorporated in three different gelling agents, namely carboxymethylcellulose sodium (CMC-Na), sodium alginate (Na-ALG) and xanthan gum (XG). All the formulations were evaluated in term of particle size, pH, conductivity, viscosity, zeta potential and in vitro drug release. The formulation 2 (NE2) of both DIF and DIF-IC which expressed optimum release and satisfactory physicochemical properties was incorporated with gelling agents to produce final nanoemulgel formulations. The optimized nanoemulgel formulation was subjected to three different in vivo anti-inflammatory models including carrageenan-induced paw edema model, histamine-induced paw edema model and formalin-induced paw edema model.Results: DIF-IC-loaded nanoemulgel formulations yielded significantly enhanced in vitro skin permeation than DIF-loaded nanoemulgel. The nanoemulgel formulation of DIF-IC formulated with XG produced improved in vivo anti-inflammatory activity.Conclusion: It was recommended that DIF-IC-based nanoemulgel formulation prepared with XG could be a better option for effective topical treatment of inflammatory conditions.Keywords: diflunisal, nanoemulsion, pseudoternary phase diagram, in vitro skin permeation, anti-inflammatory activity, improved efficacy

The multi-controller placement problem (MCPP) represents one of the most challenging issues in software-defined networks (SDNs). High-efficiency and scalable optimized solutions can be achieved for a given position in such networks, thereby enhancing various aspects of programmability, configuration, and construction. In this paper, we propose a model called simulated annealing for multi-controllers in SDN (SA-MCSDN) to solve the problem of placing multiple controllers in appropriate locations by considering estimated distances and distribution times among the controllers, as well as between controllers and switches (C2S). We simulated the proposed mathematical model using Network Simulator NS3 in the Linux Ubuntu environment to extract the performance results. We then compared the results of this single-solution algorithm with those obtained by our previously proposed multi-solution harmony search particle swarm optimization (HS-PSO) algorithm. The results reveal interesting aspects of each type of solution. We found that the proposed model works better than previously proposed models, according to some of the metrics upon which the network relies to achieve optimal performance. The metrics considered in this work are propagation delay, round-trip time (RTT), matrix of time session (TS), average delay, reliability, throughput, cost, and fitness value. The simulation results presented herein reveal that the proposed model achieves high reliability and satisfactory throughput with a short access time standard, addressing the issues of scalability and flexibility and achieving high performance to support network efficiency.

Abstract Background Serious damage of red palm weevil to date palm encourages its control by various measures. The present work was carried out to investigate the effects of some insecticides of different categories (Pyriproxyfen, Neemazal, and Spinetoram) on the activities of phosphatases (acid phosphatase; ACP, alkaline phosphatase; ALP) and transaminases (glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase; GOT, glutamine pyruvic transaminase; GPT) in both haemolymph and fat body of the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus 5th instar larvae. Results After 24-h treatment by sublethal concentrations LC50 and LC75: 1067.5, 2317.5 ppm (Pyriproxyfen), 14,600, 27,100 ppm (Neemazal), and 18.37, 88.60 ppm (Spinetoram). Depending on the present results, the enzyme activities in both haemolymph and fat body tissues had been altered. Spinetoram inhibited the activities of both phosphatase and transaminase enzymes in the two tissues with an exception for the transaminases in haemolymph tissue at LC50. On the other hand, Pyriproxyfen stimulated GOT activity in the two tissues but inhibited GPT activity with no exception. While, phosphatases were inhibited with few exception. Neemazal LC75 stimulated phosphatases in the two tissues while transaminases were fluctuated. Conclusion Spinetoram exhibited the most potent compound for inhibiting the enzyme activities.

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is a developing architecture that provides scalability, flexibility, and efficient network management. However, optimal controller placement faces many problems, which affect the performance of the overall network. To resolve the Multi-controller SDN (MC-SDN) that is deployed in the SDN environment, we propose an approach that uses a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm that improves network performance. Initially, the proposed SDN network is constructed based on graph theory, which improves the connectivity and flexibility between switches and controllers. After that, the controller selection is performed by selecting an optimal controller from multiple controllers based on controller features using the firefly optimization algorithm (FA), which improves the network performance. Finally, multi-controller placement is performed to reduce the communication latency between the switch to controllers. Here, multiple controllers are placed by considering location and distance using a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm, which includes a harmonic search algorithm and particle swarm optimization algorithm (HSA-PSO), in which the PSO algorithm is proposed to automatically update the harmonic search parameters. The simulation of multi-controller placement is carried out by the CloudsimSDN network simulator, and the simulation results demonstrate the proposed advantages in terms of propagation latency, Round Trip Time (RTT), matrix of Time Session (TS), delay, reliability, and throughput.

Abstract This study investigated the prevalence, morphology, molecular identification, and histopathological effects of larval tapeworms (plerocercoids) infecting the skeletal muscles of the Indian halibut (Psettodes erumei) collected from the coastal waters of the Arabian Gulf. Numerous oval or round blastocysts, measuring 13–26 mm, were found embedded within the muscular tissues of the Indian halibut, rendering the fish unsuitable for human consumption. Morphological and molecular analyses identified the plerocercoids as Dasyrhynchus giganteus (family Dasyrhynchidae), with an overall prevalence of 15.4%. The seasonal prevalence was the highest in summer (14.6%), followed by spring (10.6%), winter (4.4%), and autumn (3.5%). Infection rates increased with fish size. Histopathological examination revealed fibrous connective tissue capsules surrounding the larvae, causing muscular atrophy and degenerative changes, with few inflammatory eosinophilic cells. Molecular and phylogenetic analysis of the 28S rDNA gene sequences confirmed the specimens as D. giganteus, clustered closely with other sequences of D. giganteus with 100% bootstrap values. This study provided valuable insights into the parasitic infection dynamics, seasonal variation, molecular identification, and histopathological effects, highlighting the importance of monitoring fish for food safety and public health implications.

Access to solid organ transplantation in patients with intellectual disability is associated with health inequities due to concerns about treatment adherence, survival rates, and post-transplant quality of life. This systematic literature review aims to compare outcomes after organ transplantation in patients with intellectual disability compared to patients without intellectual disability. Embase, Medline Ovid, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Trials, and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched for studies concerning pediatric or adult solid organ transplantation in recipients with a diagnosis of intellectual disability prior to transplantation. Primary outcomes were patient and graft survival rates. Secondary outcomes were acute rejection rate, adherence rates, and quality of life. Nine studies were included, describing kidney (n = 6), heart (n = 4) and liver (n = 1) transplantation. Reported graft survival rates were non-inferior or better compared to patients without intellectual disability, while patient survival was reportedly slightly lower in two studies reporting on kidney transplantation. Although current evidence has a potential selection bias based on including patients with a sufficient support network, intellectual disability alone should not be regarded a relative or absolute contra-indication for solid organ transplantation.

Streptococcosis is one of the septicaemic bacterial diseases of public health concern due to its zoonotic potential. Its luxurious existence in wild marine fish from an open water body strongly suggests presence of massive sewage pollution. The aim of the current study was to identify and characterize most common streptococci affecting common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus) inhabiting the Mediterranean coast of Tripoli. A total number of 270 common pandora were clinically examined for possible streptococcal infection and non-streptococcal infection. The fishes were collected from the area extending from Tripoli to Tajoura (east to Tripoli) during the three seasons, summer, autumn, and spring. No fish samples were available during winter due to the bad climate / storms along the entire western Libyan Mediterranean coasts. Streptococcus iniae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae, Streptococcus phocae, Enterococcus faecalis, and other non-streptococcal species, such as Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas anguilliseptica, and Photobacterium damselae sub species damselae were biochemically identified. Regardless of the season, S. iniae and E. faecalis were the most prevalent streptococcal species (13% and 8.88%, respectively). In contrast, the most retrieved non-streptococcal species were A. hydrophila, followed by Pseudomonas anguilliseptica, with a prevalence of 10%, and 14.44%, respectively. The highest infections were recorded during autumn, followed by summer, then spring with percentages of 53.34%, 50%, and 43.4%, respectively. The majority of the isolates were sensitive to erythromycin, florfenicol, and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. The molecular screening using the sequences of 16S rRNA genes has confirmed the phylogenetic relationship to S. dysgalactiae, E. faecalis, S. iniae, and S. phocae isolates with similarity percentages exceeding 99.6%. The sequences were deposited in the GenBank with accession numbers (OK033868, OK033869, OK033870, and OK033871). To sum up, the obtained results highly suggests that the common pandora fish from Tripoli coast of the Mediterranean is biologically contaminated with various zoonotic streptococci which could be considered as a biological indicator for municipal sewage pollution.

Fake news has spread more widely over the past few years. The development of social media and internet websites has fueled the spread of fake news, causing it to mix with accurate information. The majority of studies on Fake News Detection FND were in English, but recent attention has been focused on Arabic. However, there aren't many studies on Arabic fake news detection. In this work, a new Arabic fake news detection approach has been proposed using Arabic dataset publically available and a translated English fake news dataset into Arabic. A new model Text-CNNs based on 1D Convolution Neural Networks CNNs has been used for classification real and fake news. Extensive experimental results on the Arabic fake news dataset show that our proposed approach provided high detection accuracy about (99.67%), Precision (99.45), Recall (99.65) and F1-score (99.50).

Introduction Hepatic artery complications (HACs), such as a thrombosis or stenosis, are serious causes of morbidity and mortality after paediatric liver transplantation (LT). This study will investigate the incidence, current management practices and outcomes in paediatric patients with HAC after LT, including early and late complications.Methods and analysis The HEPatic Artery stenosis and Thrombosis after liver transplantation In Children (HEPATIC) Registry is an international, retrospective, multicentre, observational study. Any paediatric patient diagnosed with HAC and treated for HAC (at age

BackgroundEvidence-based medicine (EBM) has the potential to improve health outcomes, but EBM has not been widely integrated into the systems used for research or clinical decision-making. There has not been a scalable and reusable computer-readable standard for distributing research results and synthesized evidence among creators, implementers, and the ultimate users of that evidence. Evidence that is more rapidly updated, synthesized, disseminated, and implemented would improve both the delivery of EBM and evidence-based health care policy. ObjectiveThis study aimed to introduce the EBM on Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) project (EBMonFHIR), which is extending the methods and infrastructure of Health Level Seven (HL7) FHIR to provide an interoperability standard for the electronic exchange of health-related scientific knowledge. MethodsAs an ongoing process, the project creates and refines FHIR resources to represent evidence from clinical studies and syntheses of those studies and develops tools to assist with the creation and visualization of FHIR resources. ResultsThe EBMonFHIR project created FHIR resources (ie, ArtifactAssessment, Citation, Evidence, EvidenceReport, and EvidenceVariable) for representing evidence. The COVID-19 Knowledge Accelerator (COKA) project, now Health Evidence Knowledge Accelerator (HEvKA), took this work further and created FHIR resources that express EvidenceReport, Citation, and ArtifactAssessment concepts. The group is (1) continually refining FHIR resources to support the representation of EBM; (2) developing controlled terminology related to EBM (ie, study design, statistic type, statistical model, and risk of bias); and (3) developing tools to facilitate the visualization and data entry of EBM information into FHIR resources, including human-readable interfaces and JSON viewers. ConclusionsEBMonFHIR resources in conjunction with other FHIR resources can support relaying EBM components in a manner that is interoperable and consumable by downstream tools and health information technology systems to support the users of evidence.

Abstract Patients with corticosteroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) have a low one-year survival rate. Identification and validation of novel targetable kinases in patients who experience corticosteroid-refractory-aGVHD may help improve outcomes. Kinase-specific proteomics of leukocytes from patients with corticosteroid-refractory-GVHD identified rho kinase type 1 (ROCK1) as the most significantly upregulated kinase. ROCK1/2 inhibition improved survival and histological GVHD severity in mice and was synergistic with JAK1/2 inhibition, without compromising graft-versus-leukemia-effects. ROCK1/2-inhibition in macrophages or dendritic cells prior to transfer reduced GVHD severity. Mechanistically, ROCK1/2 inhibition or ROCK1 knockdown interfered with CD80, CD86, MHC-II expression and IL-6, IL-1β, iNOS and TNF production in myeloid cells. This was accompanied by impaired T cell activation by dendritic cells and inhibition of cytoskeletal rearrangements, thereby reducing macrophage and DC migration. NF-κB signaling was reduced in myeloid cells following ROCK1/2 inhibition. In conclusion, ROCK1/2 inhibition interferes with immune activation at multiple levels and reduces acute GVHD while maintaining GVL-effects, including in corticosteroid-refractory settings.

Abstract Background Biliary atresia (BA) is rare liver disease of unknown etiology, and is a major indication for liver transplant (LT). Previous data indicate improved outcomes with early referral for Kasai portoenterostomy (KPE). Objective Evaluate the long‐term outcomes in BA, with particular focus on those transitioned to adult care with native livers. Subjects and Methods Patients with BA treated between1980 and 2012 were identified. Data were collected from the time of referral, transition to adult care, and the most recent clinic notes, from which patient and native liver survival were calculated. Results Four hundred and fifty‐four patients with BA were identified, who were followed up for median of 16.4 years from birth; 74 died (41 of whom had a LT), giving a 20‐year survival rate of 83.6%. Two hundred and seventy‐two patients received an LT, with the median native liver survival being 35 months. Of patients who transitioned to adult care, 54 of 180 (30.0%) retained their native liver. Of these, 72% (39 of 54) had evidence of chronic liver disease at transition, of whom 8 were subsequently lost to follow‐up, 9 were transplanted, and 22 remained stable with compensated liver disease. Of the 15 of 54 patients (28%) with no evidence of chronic disease in their native liver disease at transition, 3 were subsequently lost to follow‐up; none received transplants, although 3 patients developed new‐onset liver disease. All patients transitioned to adult care completed secondary school education (N = 180), with 49% having attended college/university and 87% being in employment or education at the last follow‐up. Of female patients, 34% had at least one pregnancy (27 children in 21 women), while 22% of males had fathered a child. Conclusion Long‐term outcomes in BA are good, with patients surviving into adult life. Progression of chronic liver disease and associated morbidity is common in those who retained their native livers, suggesting that these patients require monitoring of liver disease throughout adult life, and early recognition of the need for LT.

This case presents a diagnostic challenge in a 28-year-old male initially evaluated for severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and constipation, leading to the presumption of post-appendectomy complications. Clinical examination revealed abdominal distension, tenderness, and signs of peritonism, along with a reducible inguinal hernia. On subsequent CT scan, a large, inflamed area of omentum localized to the right abdomen extending up to the defect in the inguinal region with mild ascites was revealed. Upon exploration, it was discovered that the patient’s initial surgery had focused solely on an appendix deemed mildly inflamed by the operating surgeon, while a concurrent diagnosis of secondary omental torsion was missed. This oversight underscores the challenges in diagnosing abdominal pathologies, with the initial misdiagnosis leading to ongoing patient distress. Meticulous adhesiolysis and omentectomy were performed, resulting in the resolution of the patient’s symptoms.

Dementia is a progressive condition and an umbrella term used to describe a set of symptoms that affects many older adults. Older adults living with dementia often experience social stigma, which can impact their quality of life. Most people with dementia need the assistance of a caregiver in order to enhance their health. The present study seeks to explore the perspective of nurses as the primary caregivers of people living with dementia in Saudi Arabia, focusing on the challenges faced by nurses and their reactions to these challenges. A descriptive qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews with 10 nurses with experience caring for people living with dementia from 2 hospitals in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Using thematic analysis, 4 main themes were identified: (1) types of support, (2) challenges when caring for people living with dementia, (3) society’s views on people living with dementia, and (4) nurses’ perceptions of dementia. The nurses stated that people living with dementia do not receive sufficient support from their families. Most participants believed that public awareness about dementia is insufficient. Increased efforts to raise public awareness about dementia could include harnessing social norms around family structure and respect for elders to improve care provided to people living with dementia.

Digital images are one of the modern era's dominant sources of information and communication. However, an image can simply be altered with the existence of several tools for image editing. These altered images can transmit across platforms of social media to influence some people in society and may have both positive and negative effects. Therefore, the development of technology becomes a necessary issue to detect and localize a forgery in an image. Copy-move forgery (CMF) is one of the most popular forgeries. In CMF, the new forgery image is created by copying a part presented in an image and placing it at a different location on the same image. This paper proposes a PointRend as a technique to localize copy-move forgeries. This work also presents the PointRend framework with a lightweight backbone model RegNetX (PointRend-RegNetX) to detect such forgeries. From the comparative analysis of the proposed technique with ResNet-50 backbone on two standard datasets, it has been shown that the proposed model (PointRend-RegNetX) is superior in MICC F-220 and MICC F-2000 datasets for images that contain copy-move forgeries. In instances segmentation of forged regions, the improved model (PointRend-RegNetX) has achieved a mean average precision (mAP) of 88.5% on MICC F-220 dataset and 86.4 % on MICC F-2000 dataset.

Key Clinical Message Streptococcus gordonii‐associated endocarditis is a rare occurrence, raising diagnostic challenges, and is often associated with considerable morbidity. However, vigilance can prevent devastating consequences. Abstract Streptococcus gordonii‐associated endocarditis is rarely reported but often associated with considerable morbidity. We describe three cases of infective endocarditis caused by S. gordonii during a four‐week period in 2023, and the use of whole‐genome sequencing to determine whether these isolates were genetically related. The available literature was reviewed.

Abstract Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. (Shisham) is a timber-producing species of economic, cultural, and medicinal importance in the Indian subcontinent. In the past few decades, Shisham's dieback disease caused by the fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae has become an evolving issue in the subcontinent endangering its survival. To gain insights into this issue, a standard transcriptome assembly was deployed to assess the response of D. sissoo at the transcriptomic level under the stress of B. theobromae infection. For RNA isolation, the control and infected leaf tissue samples were taken from 1-year-old greenhouse-grown D. sissoo plants after 20 days of stem-base spore inoculation. cDNA synthesis was performed from these freshly isolated RNA samples that were then sent for sequencing. About 18.14 Gb (Giga base) of data was generated using the BGISEQ-500 sequencing platform. In terms of Unigenes, 513,821 were identified after a combined assembly of all samples and then filtering the abundance. The total length of Unigenes, their average length, N50, and GC-content were 310,523,693 bp, 604 bp, 1,101 bp, and 39.95% respectively. The Unigenes were annotated using 7 functional databases i.e., 200,355 (NR: 38.99%), 164,973 (NT: 32.11%), 123,733 (Swissprot: 24.08%), 142,580 (KOG: 27.75%), 139,588 (KEGG: 27.17%), 99,752 (GO: 19.41%), and 137,281 (InterPro: 26.72%). Furthermore, the Transdecoder detected 115,762 CDS. In terms of SSR (Simple Sequence Repeat) markers, 62,863 of them were distributed on 51,508 Unigenes and on the predicted 4673 TF (Transcription Factor) coding Unigenes. A total of 16,018 up- and 19,530 down-regulated Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) were also identified. Moreover, the Plant Resistance Genes (PRGs) had a count of 9230. We are hopeful that in the future, these identified Unigenes, SSR markers, DEGs and PRGs will provide the prerequisites for managing Shisham dieback disease, its breeding, and in tree improvement programs.

This research explored the potential of marble wastewater (MWW) in cement paste and mortar production, addressing water scarcity, sustainable growth, and resource management. It investigated the physico-mechanical properties and microstructure of cement materials incorporated with varying amounts of MWW. In this study, we utilized tap water and MWW for mortar quality testing, focusing on parameters including setting times, water absorption, and mechanical strength. The viability of MWW in concrete formulations was confirmed by its acceptable total dissolved solids and alkalinity levels. A comprehensive experimental program determined that using marble wastewater in place of tap water reduced the quantity of water required for cement consistency and generated slightly higher compressive strengths (2, 3, 4, and 6%) after 28 days of curing. Analytical techniques, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and X-ray diffraction (XRD), were employed for molecular and microstructural analyses, which revealed that MWW had a significant influence on portlandite development and CSH formation at higher replacement levels. In short, this research highlights the feasibility of using MWW in cement products, contributing to sustainable water resources, and industrial waste management and utilization.

(1) Background: There is a global demand for more psychiatric nurses, with nursing students’ attitudes toward mental illness and working in mental health facilities playing a pivotal role in their career choices. This study aims to evaluate attitudes toward working in mental health facilities among undergraduate nursing students in Saudi Arabia, both before and after exposure to psychiatry courses, and examine their relationship with perceptions of mental illness. (2) Methods: A quantitative descriptive and correlational cross-sectional design was employed. Nursing students’ attitudes toward working in mental health facilities were assessed using the Attitude Toward Psychiatry 18 (ATP-18) questionnaire and the Beliefs Toward Mental Illness (BMI) scale. (3) Results: No significant relationship has been found between the frequency of negative views of both ATP-18 and BMI, and exposure to the psychiatry course. However, nurses who completed the psychiatry course held more positive views towards psychiatrists and found psychiatric patients less demanding, were less likely to view psychological disorders as dangerous, more confident in trusting mentally ill colleagues, and felt less embarrassed by the term “psychological disorder” compared to those who had not taken the course. (4) Conclusion: Based on our findings, it is evident that exposure to psychiatric courses and training enhances the potential of nursing students to contribute effectively to the psychiatric field. Therefore, integrating mental health and illness community services training into nursing education programs can play a pivotal role in raising awareness and attracting students who may hold negative attitudes towards individuals with mental illness.

Erysipelothrix spp., including E. rhusiopathiae, are zoonotic bacterial pathogens that can cause morbidity and mortality in mammals, fish, reptiles, birds, and humans. The southern sea otter (SSO; Enhydra lutris nereis) is a federally-listed threatened species for which infectious disease is a major cause of mortality. We estimated the frequency of detection of these opportunistic pathogens in dead SSOs, described pathology associated with Erysipelothrix infections in SSOs, characterized the genetic diversity and antimicrobial susceptibility of SSO isolates, and evaluated the virulence of two novel Erysipelothrix isolates from SSOs using an in vivo fish model. From 1998 to 2021 Erysipelothrix spp. were isolated from six of >500 necropsied SSOs. Erysipelothrix spp. were isolated in pure culture from three cases, while the other three were mixed cultures. Bacterial septicemia was a primary or contributing cause of death in five of the six cases. Other pathology observed included suppurative lymphadenopathy, fibrinosuppurative arteritis with thrombosis and infarction, bilateral uveitis and endophthalmitis, hypopyon, petechia and ecchymoses, mucosal infarction, and suppurative meningoencephalitis and ventriculitis. Short to long slender Gram-positive or Gram-variable bacterial rods were identified within lesions, alone or with other opportunistic bacteria. All six SSO isolates had the spaA genotype–four isolates clustered with spaA E. rhusiopathiae strains from various terrestrial and marine animal hosts. Two isolates did not cluster with any known Erysipelothrix spp.; whole genome sequencing revealed a novel Erysipelothrix species and a novel E. rhusiopathiae subspecies. We propose the names Erysipelothrix enhydrae sp. nov. and Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae ohloneorum ssp. nov. respectively. The type strains are E. enhydrae UCD-4322-04 and E. rhusiopathiae ohloneorum UCD-4724-06, respectively. Experimental injection of tiger barbs (Puntigrus tetrazona) resulted in infection and mortality from the two novel Erysipelothrix spp. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Erysipelothrix isolates from SSOs shows similar susceptibility profiles to isolates from other terrestrial and aquatic animals. This is the first description of the pathology, microbial characteristics, and genetic diversity of Erysipelothrix isolates recovered from diseased SSOs. Methods presented here can facilitate case recognition, aid characterization of Erysipelothrix isolates, and illustrate assessment of virulence using fish models.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and common type of malignant brain tumor diagnosed in adults. Preclinical immunocompetent mouse tumor models generated using mouse tumor cells play a pivotal role in testing the therapeutic efficacy of emerging immune-based therapies for GBMs. However, the clinical translatability of such studies is limited as mouse tumor lines do not fully recapitulate GBMs seen in inpatient settings. In this study, we generated three distinct, imageable human-GBM (hGBM) models in humanized mice using patient-derived GBM cells that cover phenotypic and genetic GBM heterogeneity in primary (invasive and nodular) and recurrent tumors. We developed a pipeline to first enrich the tumor-initiating stem-like cells and then successfully established robust patient-derived GBM tumor engraftment and growth in bone marrow-liver-thymus (BLT) humanized mice. Multiplex immunofluorescence of GBM tumor sections revealed distinct phenotypic features of the patient GBM tumors, with myeloid cells dominating the immune landscape. Utilizing flow cytometry and correlative immunofluorescence, we profiled the immune microenvironment within the established human GBM tumors in the BLT mouse models and showed tumor infiltration of variable human immune cells, creating a unique immune landscape compared with lymphoid organs. These findings contribute substantially to our understanding of GBM biology within the context of the human immune system in humanized mice and lay the groundwork for further translational studies aimed at advancing therapeutic strategies for GBM.