Adenovirus type D and type E infection in broiler chickens: the effect on CD4 and CD8 T cell response, cytokines expression and their immunopathology.

1. A total of 150-day-old chicks were divided into three groups of 50 birds (G1-G3); G1 and G2 were orally inoculated at 1-day old with 0.5 ml of 107 TCID50/ml FAdV-D serotype 2 (MT386509.1) and FAdV-E serotype 8a (MW847902), respectively, and G3 was blank control group.2. Cell-mediated immune response was evaluated by detection of CD4, CD8 T lymphocytes and the mRNA expression of IL6 and IL8 in the chicken spleen using q-PCR. Additionally, immunopathology was performed at 3, 5 and 7 day post infection (dpi) and weekly until the end of the experiment.3. Results revealed that transcription of inflammatory cytokines (IL6, IL8) was up regulated in the spleen of FAdV type D and type E infected chickens at various time points relative to the control group. A marked decrease in the number of CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes at 5 and 7 dpi in G1 of chickens infected with FAdV type D. Whereas, in chickens infected with FAdV type E, the CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes were markedly decreased at 7 dpi.4. In contrast, there were no significant differences in humoral immune responses against NDV vaccine in (G1 and G2) at different intervals post-vaccination compared to the control group. The histopathology of the bursa, thymus, and spleen in the infected groups showed lymphocytolysis with severe reticular cells hyperplasia and lymphoid depletion.5. In conclusion, fowl adenovirus types D and E have an immunosuppressive effect in broilers which may be considered one of the main causes of the continuous co-infections with other viruses reported in the field during the last 10 years.

A mild ovarian stimulation strategy in women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF: a multicenter randomized non-inferiority trial.

STUDY QUESTION: In subfertile women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF does a mild ovarian stimulation strategy lead to comparable ongoing pregnancy rates in comparison to a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy? SUMMARY ANSWER: A mild ovarian stimulation strategy in women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF leads to similar ongoing pregnancy rates as a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Women diagnosed with poor ovarian reserve are treated with a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of high-dose gonadotropins and pituitary downregulation with a long mid-luteal start GnRH-agonist protocol. Previous studies comparing a conventional strategy with a mild ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of low-dose gonadotropins and pituitary downregulation with a GnRH-antagonist have been under powered and their effectiveness is inconclusive. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: This open label multicenter randomized trial was designed to compare one cycle of a mild ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of low-dose gonadotropins (150 IU FSH) and pituitary downregulation with a GnRH-antagonist to one cycle of a conventional ovarian stimulation strategy consisting of high-dose gonadotropins (450 IU HMG) and pituitary downregulation with a long mid-luteal GnRH-agonist in women of advanced maternal age and/or women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF between May 2011 and April 2014. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Couples seeking infertility treatment were eligible if they fulfilled the following inclusion criteria: female age ≥35 years, a raised basal FSH level >10 IU/ml irrespective of age, a low antral follicular count of ≤5 follicles or poor ovarian response or cycle cancellation during a previous IVF cycle irrespective of age. The primary outcome was ongoing pregnancy rate per woman randomized. Analyses were on an intention-to-treat basis. We randomly assigned 195 women to the mild ovarian stimulation strategy and 199 women to the conventional ovarian stimulation strategy. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Ongoing pregnancy rate was 12.8% (25/195) for mild ovarian stimulation versus 13.6% (27/199) for conventional ovarian stimulation leading to a risk ratio of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.57-1.57), representing an absolute difference of -0.7% (95% CI: -7.4 to 5.9). This 95% CI does not extend below the predefined threshold of 10% for inferiority. The duration of ovarian stimulation was significantly lower in the mild ovarian stimulation strategy than in the conventional ovarian stimulation strategy (mean difference -1.2 days, 95% CI: -1.88 to -0.62). Also, a significantly lower amount of gonadotropins was used in the mild simulation strategy, with a mean difference of 3135 IU (95% CI: -3331 to -2940). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: A limitation of our study was the lack of data concerning the cryopreservation of surplus embryos, so we are not informed on cumulative pregnancy rates. Another limitation is that we were not able to follow up on the ongoing pregnancies in all centers, so we are not informed on live birth rates. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: The results are directly applicable in daily clinical practice and may lead to considerable cost savings as high dosages of gonadotropins are not necessary in women with poor ovarian reserve undergoing IVF. A health economic analysis of our data planned to test the hypothesis that mild ovarian stimulation strategy is more cost-effective than the conventional ovarian stimulation strategy is underway. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTERESTS: This study was supported by NUFFIC scholarship (the Netherlands) and STDF short-term fellowship (Egypt). TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NTR2788 (Trialregister.nl). TRIAL REGISTER DATE: 01 March 2011. DATE OF FIRST PATIENT'S ENROLMENT: May 2011.

Comparability of input parameters in the German Retina.net ROP registry and the EU-ROP registry - An exemplary comparison between 2011 and 2021.

PURPOSE: The German Retina.net ROP registry and its Europe-wide successor, the EU-ROP registry, collect data from patients treated for ROP. This analysis compares input parameters of these two registries to establish a procedure for joint analyses of different registry data using exemplary datasets from the two registries. METHODS: Exemplary datasets from the two databases over a 1-year period each (German Retina.net ROP Registry, 2011, 22 infants; EU-ROP Registry, 2021, 44 infants) were compared. The parameters documented in the two databases were aligned and analysed regarding demographic parameters, treatment modalities, complications within first 24 h and retreatments. RESULTS: The current analysis showed that data can be aligned for joint analyses with some adjustments within the data structure. The registry with more detailed data collection (EU-ROP) needs to be reduced regarding granularity in order to align the different registries, as the registry with lower granularity determines the level of analyses that can be performed in a comparative approach. In the exemplary datasets, we observed that the overall most common ROP severity in both registries was zone II, 3+ (2011: 70.5%; 2021: 65%), with decreasing numbers of clock hours showing preretinal neovascularisations (2011: 10-12 clock hours in 29% of cases, 2021: 4-6 clock hours in 38%). The most prevalent treatment method was laser coagulation in 2011 (75%) and anti-VEGF therapy in 2021 (86.1%). Within the anti-VEGF group, all patients were treated with bevacizumab in 2011 and with ranibizumab in 2021. Retreatment rates were comparable in 2011 and 2021. CONCLUSION: Data from two different ROP registries can be aligned and jointly analysed. The analysis reveals a paradigm shift in treatment modalities, from predominantly laser to anti-VEGF, and within the anti-VEGF group from bevacizumab to ranibizumab in Germany. In addition, there was a trend towards earlier treatment in 2021.

Control and treatment of type 2 diabetes in private patients in the Egyptian "DIACONTROL study".

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to identify the characteristics of Egyptian patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), determine disease control rates, and gain insights into clinical treatments. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 2,516 patients with T2DM were recruited from 244 private clinics across Egypt in a one-month period from May to June 2017. Data collected from patients included glycemic control parameters of glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting plasma glucose, and postprandial glucose. Additional information gathered included patients' weight, age, level of physical activity, smoking habits, presence of comorbidities, type of treatment received for type 2 diabetes, number and severity of hypoglycemic events, as well as treatment modification by the physician in the last visit. The type of statistics used for the analysis is descriptive statistics and regression model. RESULTS: Only 18.4% of participating patients achieved the target level of glycosylated hemoglobin of 7% or below. The mean age of these patients was 54±11.2 years, and the mean duration since the first diagnosis was 6.6±6.4 years. A total of 33.4% of all patients had no known comorbidity, while the rest had one or more known and treated comorbidities. A total of 76% of patients received sulfonylurea either as monotherapy or in combination with other treatments. In addition, no treatment modifications or adjustments were provided for 32% of the study participants who did not reach their glycemic control target. CONCLUSIONS: In Egypt, there is a low rate of glycemic control among private patients and a high prevalence of comorbid conditions. This is likely to cause a significant health burden to people with T2DM, the healthcare system, and the economy due to a loss in productivity. This study presented an argument for better-managed measures to improve glycemic control in the population, such as patient education to increase patient awareness and adherence to treatment protocols as well as improved adherence to guidelines by clinicians.

A hybrid security system for drones based on ICMetric technology.

Recently, the number of drones has increased, and drones' illegal and malicious use has become prevalent. The dangerous and wasteful effects are substantial, and the probability of attacks is very high. Therefore, an anomaly detection and protection system are needed. This paper aims to design and implement an intelligent anomaly detection system for the security of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)/drones. The proposed system is heavily based on utilizing ICMetric technology to exploit low-level device features for detection. This technology extracts the accelerometer and gyroscope sensors' bias to create a unique number known as the ICMetric number. Hence, ICMetric numbers represent additional features integrated into the dataset used to detect drones. This study performs the classification using a deep neural network (DNN). The experimental results prove that the proposed system achieves high levels of detection and performance metrics.

Use of HOMA-IR in hepatitis C.

Chronic infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) can induce insulin resistance (IR) in a genotype-dependent manner and contributes to steatosis, progression of fibrosis and resistance to interferon plus ribavirin therapy. Our understanding of HCV-induced IR has improved considerably over the years, but certain aspects concerning its evaluation still remain elusive to clinical researchers. One of the most important issues is elucidating the ideal method for assessment of IR in the setting of hepatitis C. The hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp is the gold standard method for determining insulin sensitivity, but is impractical as it is labour intensive and time-consuming. To date, all human studies except for four where IR was evaluated in the HCV setting, an estimation of IR has been used rather than direct measurements of insulin-mediated glucose uptake. The most commonly used estimation in the HCV population is the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) which is calculated from a single measurement of fasting insulin and glucose. In this article, we review the use and reporting of HOMA in the literature and provide guidance on its appropriate as well as inappropriate use in the hepatitis setting.

[Epidemiological and economic aspects of chelating therapy in the therapeutic center of thalassemia in Morocco]. / Aspects épidémiologiques et économiques des traitements chélateurs au centre thérapeutique de la thalassémie au Maroc.

The study aims to give a general idea about the new experience of chelating drugs among beta-thalassemia patients. It is a declarative survey. It was done in the therapy center of Morocco. Statistics were done in the Laboratory of Biological Essays in Kenitra. All economic and pharmacological data were given by Novartis. Sample size was 89. The only treatment available now in the therapy center is deferiprone. 78% of patients attending the service regularly take deferiprone as treatment while 13% of them combine deferiprone and deferoxamine. Most of the patients take treatments regularly. Chelators have reduced mortality. Patients taking deferoxamine experienced injection site reactions. Most of ADR due to deferiprone were digestive. In conclusion, the main problem with chelators in Morocco is lack of accessibility to drugs (except for some patients insured or payant).

The Anti-fibrotic and Anti-inflammatory Potential of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Nintedanib in Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis in Rats.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease characterized by progressive lung damage. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors are approved to treat people with IPF while bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy was previously suggested to inhibit pulmonary fibrosis through the alveolar epithelial cell repair. The present study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effect of the bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell (BM-MSC) therapy in comparison with nintedanib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, on improving survival in bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis in rats. Moreover, the combined therapy of BM-MSCs and nintedanib will be evaluated. In the present study, IPF was induced through intra-tracheal instillation of bleomycin (5 mg/kg) in rats then treatments were administered 14 days thereafter. Nintedanib (100 mg/kg, I.P.) was administered daily for 28 days, while BM-MSCs were injected once intravenously in tail vein in the dose 1 × 106 cells/ml/rat. In the present study, both treatment regimens effectively inhibited lung fibrosis through several pathways, suppressing tumor growth factor-ß (TGF-ß)/SMAD3 expression which is considered the master signaling pathway. Nintedanib and BLM-MSCs exerted their anti-inflammatory effect through minimizing the expression of TNF-α and IL-6. In addition, the histopathological examination of the lung tissue showed a significant decrease in the alveolar wall thickening, in the inflammatory infiltrate, and in the collagen fiber deposition in response to either nintedanib or BM-MSC and their combination. In conclusion, the therapeutic pulmonary anti-fibrotic activity of nintedanib or BM-MSC is mediated through their anti-inflammatory properties and inhibition of SMAD-3/TGF-ß expression.

Effect of replacement of antibiotics with thyme and celery seed mixture on the feed intake and digestion, ruminal fermentation, blood chemistry, and milk lactation of lactating Barki ewes.

The study investigated the effect of in-feed administration of dried thyme leaf and celery seed mixture (at 1 : 1 DM basis) compared with salinomycin ionophore on milk production and milk nutritive value of Barki ewes. Thirty ewes (37.5 ± 1.8 kg), divided into 3 treatment groups, were fed: (1) a complete control diet comprising concentrates and fodder maize (Zea mays L.) at 60 : 40 dry matter basis, (2) the control diet plus 20 g of thyme and celery mixture supplementation and (3) the control diet supplemented with 1 g of salinomycin per ewe daily for 90 days. Inclusion of thyme-celery treatment increased (P < 0.05) weight gain, average daily gain, milk yield, milk component yields, and feed efficiency, without affecting milk composition. In addition, the thyme-celery treatment enhanced (P < 0.05) nutrient intake and digestibility, total ruminal volatile fatty acids, branched chain fatty acids, and acetate proportions and decreased ammonia-N concentration. Thyme-celery treatment increased (P < 0.05) serum glucose, thyroxine, and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase concentrations. It is concluded that the thyme and celery mixture (1 : 1 DM basis) at 20 g per lactating ewe daily can replace the salinomycin ionophore. Enhanced feed utilization and lactational performance as well as milk nutritive value for human consumption were observed with the natural additive mixture supplementation.

Long term conjugated linoleic acid supplementation modestly improved growth performance but induced testicular tissue apoptosis and reduced sperm quality in male rabbit.

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is known for its multiple benefits including improvement of growth, increasing lean mass, and anti-carcinogenic effects. However, when used in long-term supplementations CLA does not improve semen parameters in boar and bull and reduces fertility in Japanese quails. The content of unsaturated fatty acids in dietary lipids plays a significant role in spermatogenesis owning the high proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in plasma membrane of sperms. Whether CLA plays a role in testicular tissue and epididymal fat is still unknown. Therefore, in this study we hypothesize that long-term supplementation of equal proportion of CLA isomer mix (c9,t11-CLA and t10,c12- CLA) in rabbit bucks might alter male reproductive potentials. Twelve V-Line weaned male rabbits were used in 26 weeks trial, rabbits were individually raised and randomly allocated into three dietary groups. Control group (CON) received a basal diet, a group received 0.5% CLA (CLA 0.5%), and a group received 1% CLA (CLA 1%). Rabbits were euthanized at the end of the trial and several parameters were evaluated related to growth, semen quality, and testicular and epididymal tissue histopathology and transcriptome. The long-term supplementation of CLA increased feed intake by 5% and body weight by 2-3%. CLA 1% decreased sperm progressive motility. In testicular tissue L-carnitine and α-tocopherol were decreased by CLA supplementation. In epididymal fat, CLA tended to decrease concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the expression of SCD5 gene was upregulated by CLA 1% and CASP3 gene was upregulated by CLA 0.5%. Transcription of PPARG was downregulated by CLA. Feeding 1% CLA also decreased testicular epithelial thickness. Long-term supplementation of CLA modestly enhanced male rabbit growth, but negatively impacted male reproduction, especially at high dose of CLA.

Correction: Long term conjugated linoleic acid supplementation modestly improved growth performance but induced testicular tissue apoptosis and reduced sperm quality in male rabbit.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226070.].

[Macular pucker surgery with and without delamination of the internal limiting membrane-a prospective randomized study]. / Macular-Pucker-Chirurgie mit und ohne Delamination der Membrana limitans interna ­ eine prospektive randomisierte Studie.

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that additional internal limiting membrane (ILM) removal reduces the recurrence rate after pucker surgery with a similar functional outcome. On the other hand, morphological changes of the inner retinal layers after ILM peeling have been described. The aim of this study was to compare the long-term data after vitrectomy with and without ILM delamination in order to uncover possible differences in morphological and functional results. METHODS: In a prospective study of 32 patients with idiopathic epiretinal membrane, 16 patients were randomized into each of 2 groups. Both groups underwent pars plana vitrectomy (ppV) with peeling of the epiretinal membrane. In group 1 no forced additional peeling of the ILM was performed and in group 2 the ILM or ILM residues were additionally removed after staining. The investigated parameters were visual acuity, central retinal thickness (CRT) in optical coherence tomography (OCT), metamorphopsia and surgical complications. The time points of the examinations were directly preoperative, after 1, 3 and 6 months and partly 8.4 years postoperatively. RESULTS: In group 1 (n = 15) the preoperative mean visual acuity improved from 0.54 logMAR to 0.38 logMAR after 6 months postoperatively (n = 13). Of this group 6 patients could be examined in the long-term course and the visual acuity improved further to 0.32 logMAR after 8 years. The CRT decreased from 473 µm preoperatively to 235 µm in the long-term interval. In group 2 (n = 15) the mean visual acuity preoperatively was 0.47 logMAR and improved 6 months postoperatively (n = 13) to 0.38 logMAR and in the long-term examination (n = 5) to 0.1 logMAR. The CRT in this group decreased from 417 µm preoperatively to 278 µm in the long-term interval. In group 1 one recurrence occurred in the follow-up period, in group 2 none. CONCLUSION: The study showed that there was no significant difference in visual acuity and CRT between the two groups neither after 6 months nor after 8 years of follow-up. The observed recurrence in the group without ILM delamination underlines the assumption that additional ILM peeling could reduce the recurrence rate.

[Does the micropulse laser have an effect on chronic CSC?] / Hat der Mikropulslaser bei chronischer CCS einen Effekt?

INTRODUCTION: Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) is the fourth most common cause of vision loss without an evidence-based treatment recommendation. A positive effect of micropulse laser (MPL) treatment has been described in the literature in recent years. This study aimed to reappraise these results in a patient population with chronic CSC. METHODS: Patients suffering from chronic CSC with a source point detectable in fluorescein angiography (longer than 3 months duration and unresponsive to treatment with eplerenone and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors) were identified and included in this prospective and consecutive case study. Patients were controlled with a yellow laser (577 nm) after 6 weeks, 12 weeks and then every 3 months. RESULTS: A total of 28 patients were included (28 eyes). The mean duration of anamnesis was 444 days (90-1412 days) and the mean duration of the observation period after MPL was 257 days (42-909 days). The foveal retinal thickness measured 351.7 ± 82.4 µm before, compared to 253.6 ± 86.48 µm after MPL (mean of all patients over the whole observation period). Visual acuity was 0.33 ± 0.21 logMAR prior to MPL and 0.30 ± 0.22 logMAR posttreatment. Of the patients two underwent a second MPL and three patients underwent photodynamic treatment (PDT) after insufficient clinical improvement and were consequently excluded from the study. CONCLUSION: Retinal thickness in this patient population with chronic CSC was significantly reduced after MPL treatment with no significant changes of visual acuity. No side effects of MPL were observed. Larger studies including control groups are warranted to quantify the effects of MPL further.

The rare translocation t(14;21)(q11;q22) detected in a Moroccan patient with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Cytogenetic studies of acute lymphoblastic leukemia have been at the forefront of research in the pathogenesis of cancer. The presence of recurring chromosomal abnormalities (either numeral or structural rearrangements) provides immediate clues to the genetic events leading to leukemia and many abnormalities have important prognostic significance. The rare translocation t(14,21)(q11.2;q22) has been described in pediatric T lineage ALL in only one case so far in 2000. The present study is a case report of an ALL case in which we found a t(14,21)(q11.2;q22) as a non random chromosomal abnormality among 70 analyzed pediatric ALL cases referred exclusively to BIOLAB Laboratory from the children hospital of Morocco.

Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia associated with Pneumocystis jiroveci infection in orthotopic liver transplantation.

We report a patient who presented 6 months after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) with fever, dyspnea, and pulmonary infiltrates with biopsy-confirmed Pneumocystis jiroveci infection associated with a process of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP). We present this second case of BOOP associated with P. carinii pneumonia after OLT to highlight the risk of such disease combination in all transplant patients as well as discuss the protective effect of post-transplant prednisolone with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole prophylaxis and the possible duration of prophylaxis.

Oral Burkitt's lymphoma in children: the Moroccan experience.

Thirty-seven children with Burkitt's lymphoma of the oral region diagnosed between 1998 and 2005 were reviewed. There were 31 boys and 6 girls. The mean age at diagnosis was 6.64 years (range 2-15 years) with a mean delay to diagnosis of 41 days (range 10 days-2 months). There was a predominance of maxillary over mandibular involvement: 1.44:1. Complaints included exophytic mass with dental displacement (100%), abdominal pain (68%), nerve palsy (28%) and orbital swelling (21%). Toothache as initial complaint led to dental extraction in 12 cases. According to the Murphy classification, there were 4 stage II, 11 stage III and 22 stage IV tumours; 43% and 41% had bone marrow and central nervous system involvement, respectively. After chemotherapy, complete remission was seen in 59% of cases. Remission in two children was relatively brief, lasting no more than 3 months. After a median follow-up of 45 months (range 9-99 months), the disease-free survival rate was 54%. In conclusion, in this series, oral presentation of Burkitt's lymphoma was a component of more widely disseminated disease. The pattern seemed to fall between that of the endemic and the sporadic types. Even with intensive chemotherapy, patients with advanced disease maintained a poor prognosis.

Treatment of submandibular fibromatosis with chemotherapy and surgery. A case report.

Fibromatoses are a broad group of fibrous tissue proliferation that arise from the musculoaponeurotic structures. Because of the locally aggressive behaviour and the high recurrence rate of these tumors, various treatment options are suggested but there is still no optimal therapy for these diseases. This paper describes a case of infantile fibromatosis of the submandibular region, which was successfully treated with an interdisciplinary approach using chemotherapy and surgery. A three-year-old girl with a growing submandibular mass over a period of six months is described. The tumor was clinically aggressive, causing bone erosion and invading adjacent soft tissue structures. The diagnosis of infantile fibromatosis was established on histological and immunohistochemical findings. With a combined treatment based on ''low-dose'' chemotherapy including vinblastine and methotrexate and surgery; complete remission was achieved in 30 months. Management of head and neck fibromatoses in child-hood needs a specific approach. Combined treatment by chemotherapy and nonmutilating surgery seems to offer the best potential for cure.

Sex, age and ABO blood groups in chemotherapy-induced oropharyngeal mucositis.

AIM: The contribution of host genetic factors in oropharyngeal mucositis is not fully understood. Therefore, we conducted this study to determine possible associations of age, sex, underlying disease, type of chemotherapy and ABO blood group antigens with the risk of chemotherapy-induced oropharyngeal mucositis. METHODS: A total of 641 patients (395 boys and 246 girls; mean age 6.82+/-4.08 years) treated by standard chemotherapy for different type of malignancies were enrolled in the study. Mucositis was scored using the WHO scale. RESULTS: Oropharyngeal mucositis was found in 65.4% of our population. Patients with hematological malignancies (RR=1.87; 95% CI 1.33-2.67; P<0.0001) and under antimetabolities drugs (RR=1.88; 95% CI 1.33-2.63; P<0.0001) were associated with increased risk of oropharyngeal mucositis. Also, patients with blood group O were at higher risk (RR=2.86; 95% CI 2.03-4.02; P<0.0001) compared to patients with blood type A (RR= 0.47; 95% CI 0.33-0.66; P<0.0001) and blood type B (RR=0.59; 95% CI 0.38-0.91; P= 0.01). No relationship was found between oropharyngeal mucositis and age or sex. CONCLUSIONS: To our knowledge this is the first report demonstrating an association between ABO blood group and oropharyngeal mucositis. Further investigations are needed for a better understanding of this relationship.

A hierarchical detection method in external communication for self-driving vehicles based on TDMA.

Security is considered a major challenge for self-driving and semi self-driving vehicles. These vehicles depend heavily on communications to predict and sense their external environment used in their motion. They use a type of ad hoc network termed Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). Unfortunately, VANETs are potentially exposed to many attacks on network and application level. This paper, proposes a new intrusion detection system to protect the communication system of self-driving cars; utilising a combination of hierarchical models based on clusters and log parameters. This security system is designed to detect Sybil and Wormhole attacks in highway usage scenarios. It is based on clusters, utilising Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) to overcome some of the obstacles of VANETs such as high density, high mobility and bandwidth limitations in exchanging messages. This makes the security system more efficient, accurate and capable of real time detection and quick in identification of malicious behaviour in VANETs. In this scheme, each vehicle log calculates and stores different parameter values after receiving the cooperative awareness messages from nearby vehicles. The vehicles exchange their log data and determine the difference between the parameters, which is utilised to detect Sybil attacks and Wormhole attacks. In order to realize efficient and effective intrusion detection system, we use the well-known network simulator (ns-2) to verify the performance of the security system. Simulation results indicate that the security system can achieve high detection rates and effectively detect anomalies with low rate of false alarms.

Contractile activity of ATP and diadenosine tetraphosphate on urinary bladder in the rat: role of A1- and P2X-purinoceptors and nitric oxide.

1. Both adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP) and diadenosine tetraphosphate (AP4A) produced a dose-dependent contraction of the isolated rat urinary bladder rings. AP(4)A dose-response curve was to the left of that of ATP, and maximum response was greater than that produced by ATP. 2. 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (DPCPX), the A1-purinergic receptor blocker (0.01 mm) significantly inhibited the ATP- and AP4A-induced contractions at the whole dose range. The inhibition was between 31-41%, and 15-25% for ATP and AP4A respectively. 3. Pyridoxal phosphate 6-azophenyl-2',4'-disulphonic acid (PPADS), the P2X-purinoceptor antagonist (0.01 mm) potently inhibited the bladder contractions in response to ATP and AP4A by around 75-80%. 4. The nitric oxide (NO) precursor L-arginine reduced the bladder contractile response to ATP by about 22-41% and that of AP4A to a lesser extent by around 20-32%. 5. The nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 0.1 mM), did not produce any significant effect on ATP except for a weak inhibition of about 14% at the lowest dose of ATP. The contractions in response to AP4A were only slightly reduced by L-NAME by about 20%. 6. In conclusion, the contractile response of the bladder to ATP and to the dinucleotide AP4A is mediated mainly through P2X-purinoceptors and A1-purinergic receptors. In the detrusor muscle, NO donation possesses an inhibitory effect on ATP-mediated contractility more than that produced by the dinucleotide AP4A.