Genetic Components Derived Parameters and Heterosis in Okra under Saudi Arabia Conditions.

Four parental genotypes of okra were crossed in complete diallel design to study the direction and extent of relative heterosis and heterobeltiosis for yield and its associated traits for utilization of existing genetic diversity to develop heterotic F1 hybrids in okra. The additive genetic component (D) was significant in all studied traits except average pod weight. Nonadditive (H1 and H2) components were found to be significant in all studied traits. However, the values of the dominant effect (H1) were smaller than the D components for no. of nodes/plant, no. of pods/plant, weight of medium pods, weight of large pods, and total fresh pod yield. The maximum significant MP heterosis in the desirable direction (149.9%) was recorded for the weight of large pods/plot. The maximum significant heterobeltiosis in the desirable direction (120.1%) was recorded for the weight of small pods/plot followed by total fresh pod yield (107.4%), the weight of large pods/plot (104.9%), weight of medium pods/plot (92.1%), average pod weight (51.8%), number of pods/plant (38.4%), and plant height (34.3%). It could be concluded that plant height, average pod weight, and the number of branches could be considered for the development of elite hybrids (heterosis breeding) or inbred lines (pure line selection) in succeeding generations. Therefore, these parameters can be considered for selecting genotypes to improve the pod yield of okra. The superior crosses identified through heterosis analysis were Egyptian Balady × Line 4.1.18 (30.8 ton/ha), Line 4.1.18 × Egyptian Balady (29.8 ton/ha), Dwarf Green Long Pod × Line 4.1.18 (28.3 ton/ha), and Egyptian Balady × Dwarf Green Long Pod (27.6 ton/ha) as these crosses had high performance as well as significant and higher estimates of heterobeltiosis for fruit yield per plant and yield attributing other characters.

Morphological, Biochemical, and Molecular Diversity Assessment of Egyptian Bottle Gourd Cultivars.

The genetic variability and relationships between ten bottle gourd cultivars were evaluated based on morphological, biochemical, and molecular parameters. The results displayed high variability among selected cultivars in terms of photosynthetic pigments, total free amino acids, total phenol content, isozymes pattern, and protein electrophoresis. Furthermore, differences in molecular markers were revealed by the SCoT technique. The peroxidase (POD) and polyphenyl oxidase (PPO) isozymes patterns did not detect significant differences in bands among cultivars. The protein patterns revealed seventeen bands ranging from 126 to 9 kDa and five polymorphic bands representing 29.41%. On the other hand, eight SCoT primers were used to evaluate the genetic variability and relationships between the ten Egyptian bottle gourd cultivars. The results of SCoT analysis detected 44 amplicons with 50% polymorphism. In addition, the results of the phylogenetic tree that is constructed based on the similarity coefficient revealed by SCoT analysis confirm the results of biochemical analysis indicating a genetic relationship between the most efficient bottle gourd cultivars (S1 and S2 cultivars). In addition, there is a genetic relationship among the less efficient bottle gourd cultivars (S4 and S5 cultivars). These results could be beneficial to distinguish among bottle gourd cultivars in the plant breeding programs.

Outcomes of two different treatment modalities in mild to moderate keratoconus.

PURPOSE: To describe visual and refractive outcomes of intrastromal corneal ring segments (ICRS) and toric implantable collamer lenses (TICL) implantation in cases of mild and moderate keratoconus. METHODS: A prospective descriptive interventional case series. 40 eyes were allocated into two groups. First group (20 eyes) was treated with corneal collagen crosslinking (CXL) 1 month after ICRS implantation and the second group was treated using TICL after 1 year of CXL. RESULTS: Both groups showed statistically significant improvement in spherical equivalent, cylindrical refraction, uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) over the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Both ICRS and TICL are effective in treatment of mid and moderate keratoconus with more predictable visual results with TICL.

Mobility of LoRaWAN Gateways for Efficient Environmental Monitoring in Pristine Sites.

Environmental monitoring of delicate ecosystems or pristine sites is critical to their preservation. The communication infrastructure for such monitoring should have as little impact on the natural ecosystem as possible. Because of their wide range capabilities and independence from heavy infrastructure, low-power wide area network protocols have recently been used in remote monitoring. In this regard, we propose a mobile vehicle-mounted gateway architecture for IoT data collection in communication-network-free areas. The limits of reliable communication are investigated in terms of gateway speed, throughput, and energy consumption. We investigate the performance of various gateway arrival scenarios, focusing on the trade-off between freshness of data, data collection rate, and end-node power consumption. Then we validate our findings using both real-world experiments and simulations. In addition, we present a case study exploiting the proposed architecture to provide coverage for Wadi El-Gemal national park in Egypt. The results show that reliable communication is achieved over all spreading factors (SFs) for gateway speeds up to 150 km/h with negligible performance degradation at SFs=11,12 at speeds more than 100 km/h. The synchronized transmission model ensures the best performance in terms of throughput and power consumption at the expense of the freshness of data. Nonsynchronized transmission allows time-flexible data collection at the expense of increased power consumption. The same throughput as semisynchronized transmission is achieved using four gateways at only five times the energy consumption, while a single gateway requires seventeen times the amount of energy. Furthermore, increasing the number of gateways to ten increases the throughput to the level achieved by the synchronized scenario while consuming eight times the energy.

Prognostic Significance Of FOXP3+ Tumour-Infiltrating Tregs In Egyptian Breast Cancer Patients.

Objectives: To evaluate the prognostic importance of tumour-infiltrating forkhead box P3 protein + regulatory T cells in breast cancer patients. Method: The case-control study was conducted from January 2020 to March 2021 at the Kafrelsheikh University Hospital, Egypt, and comprised individuals with newly-diagnosed breast cancer who underwent conventionalsurgery, and controls who had a fibrocystic change of the breast. The density of tumour-infiltrating forkhead box P3 protein + regulatory T cells was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Overall survival and disease free-survival were assessed. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. RESULTS: Of the 100 patients having mean age 44.9±9.1 years, 76(76%) had moderate/strong forkhead box P3 protein expression in tumour-infiltrating regulatory T cells, and 24(24%) with no/low expression. On follow-up, Patients with moderate/strong expression had a significantly greater rate of recurrence (p<0.05). Disease-free survival was substantially shorter in patients with moderate/strong expression compared to those with little or low expression (p=0.035). Compared to individuals with no/low expression, patients with moderate/strong expression had a greater rate of mortality, but the difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: High density of forkhead box P3 protein + regulatory T cellsin Egyptian women with breast cancer may serve as a prognostic indicator.

Comparative effect of transforaminal injection of Magnesium sulphate versus Ozone on oxidative stress biomarkers in lumbar disc related radicular pain.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the effect of transforaminal injection of Magnesium sulphate versus Ozone on pain intensity, functional disability and the oxidative stress biomarkers; superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Glutathione (GSH) in patients with lumbar disc prolapse. METHODS: This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 135 patients having symptomatic lumbar disc prolapse, received either transforaminal injection of Magnesium sulphate with steroids, Ozone with steroids, or steroids alone. Assessment of pain severity and functional disability were done before intervention, 2 weeks, 1, 3, and 6 months after intervention. Serum SOD and GSH were measured for all included patients before and 2 weeks after intervention. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant improvement in pain intensity and functional disability 2 weeks after intervention in the three groups, but at 1-month and 3-months after intervention, the significant improvement was in Mg sulphate and Ozone groups only. At 6-months follow up, Mg sulphate group only showed a significant improvement. There was a statistically significant increase in SOD and GSH serum levels, 2-weeks after intervention in both Magnesium sulphate (P-value = 0.002, 0.005 respectively) and ozone groups (P-value < 0.001, < 0.001), but there was no statistically significant change in SOD and GSH serum levels in control group. CONCLUSION: Transforaminal injection of Mg sulphate in patients with lumbar disc prolapse causes significant long-term improvement (up to 6 months) in pain intensity and functional disability. The serum levels of SOD and GSH were significantly increased at 2 weeks following both transforaminal injection of Mg sulphate and ozone.

OCTUNE: Optimal Control Tuning Using Real-Time Data with Algorithm and Experimental Results.

Autonomous robots require control tuning to optimize their performance, such as optimal trajectory tracking. Controllers, such as the Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller, which are commonly used in robots, are usually tuned by a cumbersome manual process or offline data-driven methods. Both approaches must be repeated if the system configuration changes or becomes exposed to new environmental conditions. In this work, we propose a novel algorithm that can perform online optimal control tuning (OCTUNE) of a discrete linear time-invariant (LTI) controller in a classical feedback system without the knowledge of the plant dynamics. The OCTUNE algorithm uses the backpropagation optimization technique to optimize the controller parameters. Furthermore, convergence guarantees are derived using the Lyapunov stability theory to ensure stable iterative tuning using real-time data. We validate the algorithm in realistic simulations of a quadcopter model with PID controllers using the known Gazebo simulator and a real quadcopter platform. Simulations and actual experiment results show that OCTUNE can be effectively used to automatically tune the UAV PID controllers in real-time, with guaranteed convergence. Finally, we provide an open-source implementation of the OCTUNE algorithm, which can be adapted for different applications.

The Effect of Combining Post-Harvest Calcium Nanoparticles with a Salicylic Acid Treatment on Cucumber Tissue Breakdown via Enzyme Activity during Shelf Life.

In the present study, an experiment was carried out on the postharvest of cucumber fruit during a 14-day shelf life. The aim was to assess the impact of calcium nanoparticles (CaNPs) blended with different concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) on the shelf life of cucumbers during the seasons of 2018 and 2019. The investigation further monitored the influences of CaNPs-SA on some physical properties of cucumber, including the percentage weight loss, color, and fruit firmness. In addition, chemical properties, such as total soluble solids (SSC%), total acidity (TA%), total soluble sugars, and chlorophyll pigmentation of the fruit skin, were assessed during a 14-day shelf lifeCell wall degradation enzymes (CWEAs) such as polygalacturonase (PG), cel-lulase (CEL), xylanase (XYL), and pectinase (PT) were also researched. In addition, the generation rates of H2O2 and O2•- were calculated, as well as the reduction of DPPH. The lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde, MDA) and cell membrane permeability (IL%) of cell wall composites were also determined. CaNPs-SA at 2 mM suppressed CWEAs, preserved fruit quality, reduced weight loss throughout the shelf-life period, and reduced the percent leakage value. At this concentration, we also found the lowest levels of MDA and the highest levels of DPPH.

Impacts of Gum Arabic and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with Salicylic Acid on Peach Fruit (Prunus persica) Shelf Life.

Peaches are grown in many Egyptian orchards for local and global fresh market sales. The interior fruit tissue breakdown (IFTB), often resulting in decayed peaches, is a severe problem during marketing. Therefore, to minimize FTB of peaches, in this study, gum arabic (GA) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were mixed with different concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) (0, 1, and 2 mM) and were applied as edible coating to extend the shelf life of peach fruits. Mature peaches were selected and harvested when peaches reached total soluble solid content (SSC: 8.5%) and fruit firmness of about 47 N. Fruits were coated and stored at room temperature (26 ± 1 °C and air humidity 51 ± 1%) for 10 days during two seasons: 2020 and 2021. Fruit coated with GA/PVP-SA 2 mM showed a significant (p < 0.05) inhibition in degrading enzyme activities (CWDEs), such as lipoxygenase (LOX), cellulase (CEL), and pectinase (PT), compared to uncoated and coated fruits during the shelf-life period. Hence, cell wall compartments were maintained. Consequently, there was a reduction in browning symptoms in fruits by inhibiting polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activities. Thus, the fruit skin browning index showed almost no symptoms. The lipid peroxidation process and ionic permeability declined as well. The result suggests that, by applying GA/PVP-SA 2 mM as an edible coating, fruit tissue breakdown can be minimized, and the shelf life of peach can be extended up to 10 days without symptoms of tissue breakdown.

Epidemiology, clinical profile and treatment outcomes of bacterial and fungal keratitis.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to determine the microbiological etiology, epidemiological factors, and clinical profile and treatment outcomes of infective keratitis in Ophthalmology department, Minia University, Egypt. METHODS: Prospective, nonrandomized, observational clinical series of cases, including 150 patients with mean age 30 (range 12 to 85 years), 90 patients (60%) were males and 60 (40%) were females, clinically diagnosed as infective corneal ulcer, attending the Ophthalmology Department-Faculty of Medicine. Minia University, Minia, Egypt. From December 2018 to December 2020. Detailed history taking and all clinical findings were collected. Corneal scrapings were obtained from patients and subjected to staining and culture for bacterial and fungal pathogens; Bacterial and fungal growth were identified by standard laboratory procedures. RESULTS: Corneal trauma by a vegetative matter was the commonest risk factor associated with infective keratitis in 92 cases (61.3%). Smear and culture was positive in 83 cases (58.4%) of 142 corneal scrapings obtained, of which 60 cases were fungal (72.3%), 21 cases were bacterial (25.3%) and two cases were mixed bacterial and fungal (2.4%), Aspergillus species was the commonest fungal species isolated in fungal keratitis. One hundred forty-two cases (94.67%) healed completely with scar. Only six cases (4%) required evisceration due to aggressive presentation from the start and keratoplasty was performed for two cases (1.33%). CONCLUSIONS: Fungal keratitis was the commonest type in cases attending to our department. Adequate diagnosis, management and follow-up helped in achieving high successful curative outcomes. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Clinical Trials.gov ID: NCT04894630. Time of registration 1 December 2018.

The Diagnostic Accuracy of Noninvasive Methods to Measure the Intracranial Pressure: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although invasive monitoring is the standard method for intracranial pressure (ICP) measurement, it is not without potential for serious complications. Noninvasive methods have been proposed as alternatives to invasive ICP monitoring. The study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the currently available noninvasive methods for intracranial hypertension (ICH) monitoring. METHODS: We searched 5 databases for articles evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive methods in diagnosing ICH in PubMed, Institute of Science Index, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and Embase. The quantitative analysis was conducted if there were at least 2 studies evaluating a specific method. The accuracy measures included the sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio. RESULTS: We included 134 articles. Ultrasonographic optic nerve sheath diameter (US ONSD) had high diagnostic accuracy (estimated sensitivity of 90%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 87-92, estimated specificity of 88%; 95% CI, 84-91) while the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ONSD had estimated sensitivity of 77%; 95% CI, 64-87 and estimated specificity of 89%; 95% CI, 84-93, and computed tomography (CT) ONSD had estimated sensitivity of 93%; 95% CI, 90-96 and estimated specificity of 79%; 95% CI, 56-92. All MRI signs had a very high estimated specificity ranging from 90% to 99% but a low estimated sensitivity except for sinus stenosis which had high estimated sensitivity as well as specificity (90%; 95% CI, 75-96 and 96%; 95% CI, 91-99, respectively). Among the physical examination signs, pupillary dilation had a high estimated specificity (86%; 95% CI, 76-93). Other diagnostic tests to be considered included pulsatility index, papilledema, transcranial Doppler, compression or absence of basal cisterns, and ≥10 mm midline shift. Setting the cutoff value of ICH to ≥20 mm Hg instead of values <20 mm Hg was associated with higher sensitivity. Moreover, if the delay between invasive and noninvasive methods was within 1 hour, the MRI ONSD and papilledema had a significantly higher diagnostic accuracy compared to the >1 hour subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: Our study showed several promising tools for diagnosing ICH. Moreover, we demonstrated that using multiple, readily available, noninvasive methods is better than depending on a single sign such as physical examination or CT alone.

The effect of preoperative aminophylline on the recovery profile after major pelvic-abdominal surgeries: a randomized controlled double-blinded study.

BACKGROUND: This study compared the effects of premedication with different doses of aminophylline on the recovery profile after general anaesthesia. METHODS: Forty-five patients scheduled for pelvic-abdominal surgeries were divided into 3 groups: Group C: the patients received 100 ml of IV normal saline, Group A1: the patients received 2 mg/kg IV aminophylline, and Group A2: the patients received 4 mg/kg IV aminophylline 30 min before induction of general anaesthesia. The following data were recorded: demographic data, ASA physical status, duration of anaesthesia and surgery, heart rate, mean arterial blood pressure, propofol dose, fentanyl dose, times to reach BIS (48 ± 2) after induction of anaesthesia and to reach a value of 80 after discontinuation of sevoflurane anaesthesia, time to recovery of consciousness and to tracheal extubation and to discharge from the post-anaesthesia care unit, and side effects of aminophylline. RESULTS: The time to reach a BIS of 48 ± 2 was significantly lower for the control group than group A2 (70.67 ± 22.50 and 106.67 ± 34.77 s for groups C and A2, respectively, p -value =0.01). The time to reach a BIS of 80 was significantly longer for the control group than group A1 andA2 (5.6 ± 1.40,3.5 ± 1.93and 2.53 ± 1.72 min for groups C,A1 and A2, respectively, p -value < 0.01). The time to ROC was significantly longer for the control group than groups A1 and A2 (8.93 ± 0.92, 5.6 ± 2.47 and 4.53 ± 3.33 min for groups C, A1 and A2, respectively; p -value < 0.01). The extubation time was significantly longer for the control group than groups A1 and A2 (12.4 ± 1.08, 7.87 ± 3.27 and 6.6 ± 2.47 min for groups C, A1 and A2, respectively; p -value < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Premedication with aminophylline enhanced the recovery profile after pelvic-abdominal surgeries under general anaesthesia without cardiovascular complications. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Name of the registry: Register@ClinicalTrials.gov Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04151381. Date of registration, November 5, 2019, 'Retrospectively registered'.

Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest in the Pediatric Population Undergoing Cardiac Surgery With Electroencephalography Monitoring: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Cardiac surgery for repair of congenital heart defects poses unique hazards to the developing brain. Deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) is a simple and effective method for facilitating a bloodless surgical field during congenital heart defect repair. There are, however, some concerns that prolonged DHCA increases the risk of nervous system injury. The electroencephalogram (EEG) is used in adult and, to a lesser extent, pediatric cardiac procedures as a neuromonitoring method. The present study was performed to assess outcomes following DHCA with EEG monitoring in the pediatric population. DESIGN: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, Institute of Science Index, and Embase databases were searched from inception for relevant articles. A fixed- or random-effects model, as appropriate, was used. SETTING: Surgical setting. PARTICIPANTS: Pediatric population (≤18 y old). INTERVENTIONS: DHCA (18°C) with EEG monitoring. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Nineteen articles with 1,267 pediatric patients ≤18 years were included. The event rate of clinical and EEG seizures among patients who underwent DHCA was 12.9% and 14.9%, respectively. Mortality was found to have a 6.3% prevalence. A longer duration of DHCA was associated with a higher risk of EEG seizure and neurologic abnormalities. In addition, seizures were associated with increased neurologic abnormalities and neurodevelopmental delay. CONCLUSIONS: EEG and neurologic abnormalities were common after DHCA. A longer duration of DHCA was found to lead to more EEG seizure and neurologic abnormalities. Moreover, EEG seizures were more common than clinical seizures. Seizures were found to be associated with increased neurologic abnormalities and neurodevelopmental delay.

Identification of Potential SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease and Spike Protein Inhibitors from the Genus Aloe: An In Silico Study for Drug Development.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease is a global rapidly spreading virus showing very high rates of complications and mortality. Till now, there is no effective specific treatment for the disease. Aloe is a rich source of isolated phytoconstituents that have an enormous range of biological activities. Since there are no available experimental techniques to examine these compounds for antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2, we employed an in silico approach involving molecular docking, dynamics simulation, and binding free energy calculation using SARS-CoV-2 essential proteins as main protease and spike protein to identify lead compounds from Aloe that may help in novel drug discovery. Results retrieved from docking and molecular dynamics simulation suggested a number of promising inhibitors from Aloe. Root mean square deviation (RMSD) and root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) calculations indicated that compounds 132, 134, and 159 were the best scoring compounds against main protease, while compounds 115, 120, and 131 were the best scoring ones against spike glycoprotein. Compounds 120 and 131 were able to achieve significant stability and binding free energies during molecular dynamics simulation. In addition, the highest scoring compounds were investigated for their pharmacokinetic properties and drug-likeness. The Aloe compounds are promising active phytoconstituents for drug development for SARS-CoV-2.

Association of vitamin D receptor TaqI and ApaI genetic polymorphisms with nephrolithiasis and end stage renal disease: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The deficiency of vitamin D receptor (VDR) or its ligand, vitamin D3, is linked to the development of renal diseases. The TaqI (rs731236) and ApaI (rs7975232) polymorphisms of VDR gene are widely studied for their association with renal disease risk. However, studies have largely been ambiguous. METHODS: Meta-analysis was carried out to clarify the association of TaqI (2777 cases and 3522 controls) and ApaI (2440 cases and 3279 controls) polymorphisms with nephrolithiasis (NL), diabetic nephropathy (DN) and end stage renal disease (ESRD). RESULTS: The VDR TaqI C-allele under allele contrast was significantly associated with ESRD in both fixed effect and random effect models, and ApaI C-allele with ESRD only under fixed effect model. Cochrane Q-test showed no evidence of heterogeneity for TaqI polymorphism and a significant heterogeneity for Apa I polymorphism. No publication bias was observed for both the polymorphisms. CONCLUSIONS: The present meta-analysis identifies TaqI and ApaI polymorphisms of VDR gene as risk factors for renal diseases.

Clomiphene citrate and human chorionic gonadotropin are both effective in restoring testosterone in hypogonadism: a short-course randomized study.

OBJECTIVES: To compare serum testosterone response and symptom improvement in men with hypogonadism in response to treatment with clomiphene citrate (CC), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), or a combination of both therapies. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 282 men with hypogonadism, wishing to preserve their fertility, were randomized to one of three treatment arms: CC 50 mg (n = 95); 5000 IU hCG injections twice weekly (n = 94); or a combination of both therapies (CC + hCG; n = 94). All participants had complete medical history and had undergone thorough physical examination, including body mass index (BMI) assessment. Laboratory tests included serum total testosterone and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) measurements. Quantitative Androgen Deficiency in the Aging Male (qADAM) questionnaire scores were also recorded. Morning samples of total serum testosterone levels were assessed at three time points: baseline, 1 and 3 months. RESULTS: Testosterone levels increased at 1 and 3 months in all three groups. The mean baseline testosterone level was 2.31 ± 0.66 nmol/L, BMI was 30.8 ± 6.2 kg/m2 , and qADAM score was 20.5 ± 3.8. Testosterone levels increased in all groups at all time points, with a final mean value of 5.17 ± 1.77 nmol/L (223% increase) with no statistically significant difference among the groups. qADAM scores had increased in all groups at 1 month (CC group: 6.36; hCG group: 5.08; CC + hCG group: 7.26) and at 3 months (CC group: 12.73; hCG group: 11.82; CC + hCG group: 15.13) with a significant difference in intergroup analysis for the CC + hCG group compared with the other two groups (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: All three treatments were equally effective in restoring testosterone levels. Single-agent CC is simple, cheap and may be used as treatment for hypogonadism when maintenance of fertility is desired. This approach seems to be as effective as either hCG alone or a combination of hCG and CC.

Predictors of Autogenous Arteriovenous Hemodialysis Access Thrombosis after Renal Transplantation.

BACKGROUND: The fate of autogenous arteriovenous fistula (aAVF) after renal transplantation (RT) remains variable. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors for their thrombosis after RT. METHODS: We conducted a monocentric retrospective review of prospective clinical records of 145 patients with a functional aAVF who had an RT between January 2004 and December 2009 in the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand. Our primary end point was the thrombosis of the aAVF. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk factors associated to aAVF thrombosis after RT. RESULTS: There were 105 men (72%) and 40 women (28%), mean age 52 years (range: 18.4-74.7 years). The aAVF was created on average 40 months (range: 2-169) before the RT. The aAVF was distal in 96 cases (66%) and proximal in 49 cases (34%). Nineteen aAVF (13.1%) were complicated and required an endovascular or surgical repair before RT. Forty-nine patients (34%) required multiple aAVF (>2). Mean follow-up from RT was 58 months (range: 1 day-123 months) and from aAVF creation 97 months (range: 5-262 months). At the end of the follow-up, 81 aAVFs (59%) were patent, 42 (29%) were thrombosed, and 22 (15%) were surgically closed. Patients that had multiple fistulas before RT and active smokers were significantly at risk to thrombose their aAVF after the RT in univariate (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02, respectively) and multiple logistic regression analyses (P = 0.03 and P = 0.047, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Thrombosis is a part of the natural history of the aAVF after RT. A history of multiple aAVF creations before RT and active smoking were associated to significant increased risk for fistula thrombosis. Because hemodialysis may be needed after RT, the aAVF patency should be preserved, excepted when the aAVF resulted in complications. Follow-up of the aAVF after RT is important to detect and treat complications before thrombosis occurs.

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN INTELLIGENCE, HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE AND HEIGHT: EVIDENCE FROM TWO SAMPLES IN SAUDI ARABIA.

This study was based on two independent studies which in total consisted of 1812 school pupils aged 6-12 years in Saudi Arabia. Study I consisted of 1591 school pupils (609 boys and 982 girls) attending state schools, and Study II consisted of 211 boys with learning disabilities. Intelligence (measured using the Standard Progressive Matrices Plus for Study I and the Standard Progressive Matrices for Study II), head size and height were measured for the two samples. The results showed that intelligence was statistically significantly correlated with head circumference (r=0.350, p<0.001 for Study I and r=0.168, p<0.05 for Study II) and height (r=0.271, p<0.001 for Study I and r=0.178, p<0.05 for Study II).

A local signature of LTP-like plasticity induced by repetitive paired associative stimulation.

Repetitive paired associative stimulation (rPAS) repeatedly pairs electrical nerve stimulation (ENS) with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the contralateral motor hand area (M1) at 5 Hz frequency. So far, there are only few studies concerning the effects of PAS on the modulation of EEG power. Hence, aim of the present study was to investigate rPAS long term after-effects on cortical excitability looking at EEG power spectra. In four experimental sessions, separated by 2 weeks interval, 12 awake subjects received rPAS of the right median nerve and left M1 at a fixed interval (ISI) of 25 ms (real condition), 5 Hz-TMS on left M1, 5 Hz-ENS, of the right median nerve, and rPAS with changing ISI (sham condition). We measured peak-to-peak MEP amplitude, evoked from the target muscle (right abductor pollicis brevis muscle) at rest and the absolute power (POW) in four frequency bands: α (8-12 Hz), ß (13-30), θ (4-7) and δ (1-3), under rest conditions. All these parameters were evaluated in three detection blocks: baseline, immediately after and after 30' from the end of the conditioning protocol. Real rPAS induced a long-lasting homotopic cortical excitability modulation, as indexed by MEP amplitude increase, that was paralleled by a long-lasting reduction of α/ß-POW and by a widespread θ-δ-POW modulation. rPAS applied over the sensory-motor cortex induced an LTP-like plasticity, as indexed by a robust reduction in the α/ß POW positively correlated with the MEP amplitude increase. rPAS25ms may be a useful tool for motor neurorehabilitation promoting a sensory-motor coupling within ß oscillations.

Spatially compressed dual-wavelength excitation Raman spectrometer.

The design and operation of a novel dual-laser excitation Raman instrument is described. The use of two lasers of differing wavelengths allows for a Raman spectrum covering all fundamental modes of vibration to be collected while minimizing fluorescence and allowing for spatial compression of the spectrum on an imaging detector. The use of diode lasers with integrated distributed Bragg reflector gratings facilitates the use of an integrated thermoelectric cooler to allow collection of shifted excitation spectra for both of the lasers, further enhancing the rejection of fluorescence. An example is given, which uses seven excitation wavelengths for each laser to reconstruct the Raman spectrum of a solvent in the presence of a highly fluorescent dye by using a sequentially shifted excitation Raman reconstruction algorithm.