Association of ACE1 I/D polymorphism and susceptibility to COVID-19 in Egyptian children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Given the sparse data on the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and its biological effector molecules ACE1 and ACE2 in pediatric COVID-19 cases, we investigated whether the ACE1 insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism could be a genetic marker for susceptibility to COVID-19 in Egyptian children and adolescents. METHODS: This was a case-control study included four hundred sixty patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and 460 well-matched healthy control children and adolescents. The I/D polymorphism (rs1799752) in the ACE1 gene was genotyped by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), meanwhile the ACE serum concentrations were assessed by ELISA. RESULTS: The ACE1 D/D genotype and Deletion allele were significantly more represented in patients with COVID-19 compared to the control group (55% vs. 28%; OR = 2.4; [95% CI: 1.46-3.95]; for the DD genotype; P = 0.002) and (68% vs. 52.5%; OR: 1.93; [95% CI: 1.49-2.5] for the D allele; P = 0.032). The presence of ACE1 D/D genotype was an independent risk factor for severe COVID-19 among studied patients (adjusted OR: 2.6; [95% CI: 1.6-9.7]; P < 0.001. CONCLUSIONS: The ACE1 insertion/deletion polymorphism may confer susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection in Egyptian children and adolescents. IMPACT: Recent studies suggested a crucial role of renin-angiotensin system and its biological effector molecules ACE1 and ACE2 in the pathogenesis and progression of COVID-19. To our knowledge, ours is the first study to investigate the association of ACE1 I/D polymorphism and susceptibility to COVID-19 in Caucasian children and adolescents. The presence of the ACE1 D/D genotype or ACE1 Deletion allele may confer susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and being associated with higher ACE serum levels; may constitute independent risk factors for severe COVID-19. The ACE1 I/D genotyping help design further clinical trials reconsidering RAS-pathway antagonists to achieve more efficient targeted therapies.

The impact of FinTech technology on financial stability of the UAE.

Financial markets have witnessed significant disruptions driven by ongoing waves of financial innovation, and digitalization brought about by technological advances which are referred to as "FinTech". Consequently, this paper examines connectedness and risk transmission between FinTech industry, Blockchain, and stability of the financial sector in the UAE. Furthermore, it explores the impact of economic and financial turbulences such as COVID-19 pandemic on the transmission of shocks across FinTech and financial instability using a Time-varying Parameter Vector Autoregressive model. Empirical results indicate that VIX and Global Fintech are the dominant player of the system, and significantly impacting vulnerability of the UAE financial system. However, the post-COVID analysis display shifts in the roles of indices within the connectedness network, such as the OVX transitioning from being a volatility receiver to a transmitter, emphasizing evolving market sentiments in the wake of major crises. Finally, volatility spillovers increased across markets under extreme market conditions indicating that UAE is fully integrated within the global financial markets.

Abdominal disimpaction with lower uterine segment support as a novel technique to minimize fetal and maternal morbidities during cesarean section for obstructed labor: a case series.

Cesarean section for obstructed labor remains a difficult procedure that may be associated with serious fetal and maternal injuries. In this case series, we evaluated the use of abdominal disimpaction with lower segment support as a novel technique to minimize morbidities. Eight patients who underwent cesarean section for obstructed labor were recruited. Impacted fetal head was delivered using this technique and uterine extensions, bladder injury, vaginal injury, and intraoperative bleeding were reported. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were observed postoperatively. No major morbidities were reported. Accordingly, we consider this technique as a promising step to minimize complications during cesarean section for obstructed labor.

Design and control of soft biomimetic pangasius fish robot using fin ray effect and reinforcement learning.

Soft robots provide a pathway to accurately mimic biological creatures and be integrated into their environment with minimal invasion or disruption to their ecosystem. These robots made from soft deforming materials possess structural properties and behaviors similar to the bodies and organs of living creatures. However, they are difficult to develop in terms of integrated actuation and sensing, accurate modeling, and precise control. This article presents a soft-rigid hybrid robotic fish inspired by the Pangasius fish. The robot employs a flexible fin ray tail structure driven by a servo motor, to act as the soft body of the robot and provide the undulatory motion to the caudal fin of the fish. To address the modeling and control challenges, reinforcement learning (RL) is proposed as a model-free control strategy for the robot fish to swim and reach a specified target goal. By training and investigating the RL through experiments on real hardware, we illustrate the capability of the fish to learn and achieve the required task.

The effect of prophylactic oral tranexamic acid plus buccal misoprostol on blood loss after vaginal delivery: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of prophylactic oral tranexamic acid (TA) plus buccal misoprostol on the amount of blood loss after vaginal delivery in women at low risk for post-partum hemorrhage (PPH). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was a randomized open label clinical trial conducted in a tertiary University Hospital between January 2016 and June 2017. We included women who delivered vaginally with a singleton pregnancy. They were randomized into three groups: group I (women received 10 IU oxytocin IV after delivery of the baby), group II (women received 600 µg buccal misoprostol after delivery of the baby), and group III (women received 1000 mg oral TA at the end of the first stage of labor plus 600 µg buccal misoprostol after delivery of the baby). In each group, pre- and post-delivery pulse rate, blood pressure, temperature, and hemoglobin level were evaluated. Additionally, the amount of blood loss, need for blood transfusion, need for additional uterotonics, and side effects of the study medications were recorded. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant lower hemoglobin level and higher blood loss in the misoprostol group compared with oxytocin group and TA plus misoprostol group (p = .0001). There was a statistically significant higher hemoglobin level and lower blood loss in the TA plus misoprostol group compared with the oxytocin group (p = .004 and .043, respectively). PPH occurred in 16.7% of women in the misoprostol group compared 1.7% in the oxytocin group and no cases of PPH in the TA plus misoprostol group (p = .0001). CONCLUSIONS: In settings like rural area or home delivery in which oxytocin is not available, alternative oral TA plus buccal misoprostol may be considered as an effective line in prevention of PPH.