The identification and characterization of antigens that elicit human T cell responses is an important step toward understanding of Leishmania major infection and ultimately in the development of a vaccine. Micropreparative SDS-PAGE followed by electrotransfer to a PVDF membrane and elution of proteins from the PVDF, was used to separate 2 novel proteins from L. major promastigotes, which can induce antibodies of the IgG2a isotype in mice and also are recognized by antisera of recovered human cutaneous leishmaniasis subjects. Fractionation of the crude extract of L. major revealed that all detectable proteins of interest were present within the soluble Leishmania antigens (SLA). Quantitation of these proteins showed that their expression in promastigotes is relatively very low. Considering the molecular weight, immunoreactivity, chromatographic and electrophoretic behavior in reducing and non-reducing conditions, these proteins are probably 2 isoforms of a single protein. A digest of these proteins was resolved on Tricine-SDS-PAGE and immunoreactive fragments were identified by human sera. Two immunoreactive fragments (36.4 and 34.8 kDa) were only generated by endoproteinase Glu-C treatment. These immunoreactive fragments or their parent molecules may be ideal candidates for incorporation in a cocktail vaccine against cutaneous leishmaniasis.
Animals ; Antigens, Protozoan/*chemistry/*isolation & purification ; Blotting, Western ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel/methods ; Humans ; Leishmania major/growth & development/*immunology ; Protein Isoforms/chemistry/isolation & purification

Objectives
The objective of this study is to find the easily measurable associated factor for hypothermic neonatal mortality in a regional Moroccan hospital.
Methods
A retrospective study was carried out in PAGNON hospital. 52 patients admitted to PAGNON hospital neonatal unit for hypothermia between October 1st, 2005, and June 30, 2007, were included in this study. Clinical features including gestational age, body weight at hospitalization, rectal temperature, the day after birth, place of delivery were recorded at the time of hospitalization. Hypothermia was classified as per WHO classification.
Results
In 52 hypothermic neonates, 36 patients (69.3%) survived and 16 patients (30.7%) died. There was a significant statistical difference between survival group and no survival group regarding rectal temperature (31.1±2.7°Cvs. 28.7±2.3°C; mean±SD, p=0.003). All patients who died during hospitalization had below 33°C of rectal temperature at hospitalization. As for WHO classification, the severe hypothermic group had higher mortality rate than the moderate hypothermic group (45.2% vs. 9.5%, p=0.006). There was no significant statistical difference for body weight at hospitalization, the day after birth and gestational age in two groups. The severe hypothermic group was higher in the ratio of delivery at the domicile than those of moderate hypothermic group (22.6% vs. 0%, p=0.020). In multiple logistic regression analysis accounting for rectal temperature, the day after birth and body weight at hospitalization, only rectal temperature was significantly associated with survival rate (odds ratio 1.408, 95% confidence interval 1.088−1.821, p=0.009).
Conclusion
Between the moderate hypothermic neonates and the severe hypothermic neonates classified WHO classification, there was a significant difference between the mortality rate. It is important to keep the rectal temperature more than 32°C. The rectal temperature is an associated factor for hypothermic neonatal mortality which is easily measured at hospitalization in rural hospital in morocco.

Objective To study the influence of anxiety on left cardiac function in elderly patients with chronic heart failure. Methods 111 cases of chronic heart failure patients with anxiety (anxiety group) and 95 cases of chronic heart failure patients without anxiety (non anxiety group) were selected. General data were collected from patients during hospitalization and the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS)was filled out. Statistical analysis and evaluation of the influence of anxiety on left cardiac function in elderly patients with chronic heart failure was made. Results There was not significant difference (P>0.05) in the gender, age and uric acid between 2 groups, but was (P<0.05) in left ventricular ejection fraction, left ventricular end diastolic dimension, left ventricular end systolic dimension, and cardiac functional grading.Conclusion Anxiety has a strong influence on left cardiac function in elderly patients with chronic heart failure.

Objective: To investigate the total phenolics, flavonoids and tannins content and the in vitro antioxidant activities of methanolic extracts of six wild Mentha species which are Mentha aquatica, Mentha arvensis, Mentha piperita, Mentha pulegium, Mentha rotun-difolia and Mentha villosa. Methods: The Folin–Ciocalteu method was used to determine the total phenols content while flavonoids were estimated according to the aluminum chloride colorimetric method. To evaluate tannins content, vanillin and HCl were added to methanolic extracts. The antioxidant potential was measured by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging, ferrous ion chelating and the inhibition ofβ-carotene bleaching assays. Results: The methanol extracts of Algerian mints were rich in phenolic compounds and exhibited powerful antioxidant activity ranging from 7.5μg/mL to 44.66μg/mL, which varied significantly among species. Mentha aquatica stood out with efficient antioxidant ability which was correlated to the high total phenolics content, followed by Mentha arvensis and Mentha piperita with very close values, comparing to Mentha pulegium, Mentha rotundifolia and Mentha villosa with lowest values. Conclusions: These results show that methanolic extracts of Mentha species from Algeria have a great potential of polyphenols which can be used as a natural food pre-servative and antioxidant source.

Purpose: Sublingual immunotherapy is currently promoted by various companies, with administration schedules variable in the different products even though almost all are standardized immunologically. So, this study was planned to examine the efficacy of simple nondaily dosing of sublingual immunotherapy instead of the widely used daily schedule. Materials and Methods: Fifty-two patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma were enrolled. Sublingual immunotherapy (manufactured at the allergen immunotherapy preparation unit at Mansoura University) was given in suitable bottles with a dropper mechanism that permits comfortable dosing under the tongue. The physician recommended that the patient put the drops under his/her tongue and leave the drops beneath the tongue for 2 minutes before swallowing. This was repeated every 3 days, with the drop number and concentration gradually rising. Results: After 2 months of follow-up, 65.8% responded partially to the symptom score and 26.3% responded completely to the medication score. There was a significant decline in the symptom and medication scores from the baseline scores (p<0.0001). After 4 months of follow-up, 95.8% responded partially to symptom scores and no one has not responded; 54.2% responded completely to medication scores; and 81% of studied patients had no side effects. However, the most frequent side effect was a sore throat. Conclusion Our nondaily schedule of sublingual immunotherapy is tolerable, safe, and effective in patients with allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma.

Objective To systematically evaluate the storage effect and transplant outcomes of University of Wisconsin (UW) preservation solution and histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate (HTK) preservation solution on liver allografts.Methods Literatures were researched using PubMed,Embase (1980-),Ovid Medline (1948-),The Cochrane Library,Wanfang database,VIP database from the database establishement to October 2015 with the key words including organ preservation,storage solutions,Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate or HTK,custodial,bretschneider,University of Wisconsin,UW solution,viaspan,cardiosol,belzer solution,hepatic transplantation,liver transplantation,viscera transplantation,liver grafts,hepatic grafts,liver allografts,hepatic allografts,器官移植,器官保存液,UW,HTK,肝移植and比较.Two reviewers independently screened literatures,extracted data and assessed the risk of bias.All the patients using UW and HTK preservation solutions were respectively allocated into the UW group and HTK group.Count data were represented as the odds ratio (OR) and measurement data were represented as the standardized mean difference (SMD) and 95％ confidence interval (CI).The heterogeneity of the studies was analyzed using the I2 test.Results Eleven literatures were retrieved,and the total sample size were 34 475 patients including 25 248 in the UW group and 9 227 in the HTK group.The results of Meta analysis showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the primary transplants nonfunction,retransplant rate and 1-year grafts overall survival rate between the 2 groups (OR =1.18,0.84,0.97,1.02,95％ CI:0.55-2.57,0.47-1.50,0.66-1.42,0.66-1.58,P ＞0.05).There were also no statistically significant differences in the levels of alanine transaminase (ALT),aspartate transaminase (AST),total bilirubin (TBil) at postoperative day 1 between the 2 groups (SMD =-0.19,-O.30,0.30,95％ CI:-0.62-0.23,-0.70-0.10,-0.01-0.61,P ＞0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the postoperative prothrombin time(PT) and alkaline phosphatase(ALP) between the 2 groups (P ＞0.05) and in the incidence of postoperative biliary complications between the 2 groups (OR =1.49,95％ CI:0.97-2.30,P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion There is similar storage effect between UW and HTK preservation solutions on liver allografts,and no difference in the transplant outcomes.

Objective: To explore the effect of age and gender on head-up tilt test (HUTT) for diagnosing the patients with suspected vasovagal syncope (VVS).
Methods: A total of 1223 patients who received HUTT in our hospital from 2008-08 to 2012-12 were studied. The patients were from 7 to 79 years of age and divided into 4 groups. Group 1, the patients≤20 years of age, n=145, Group 2, the patients at (21-40) years, n=375, Group 3, the patients at (41-60) years, n=584 and Group 4, the patients>60 years, n=119. The HUTT comprised a 30 min basic phase and 20 min sublingual nitroglycerin provocation phase. According to ECG and blood pressure changes, the HUTT positive patients included vasodepressor type, cardio-inhibitory type and mixed type.
Results: The overall positive rate of HUTT was 51%(624/1223) and the female was higher than male, (60.1%vs 39.9%), P=0.001. The positive rates in 4 age groups were at 68.3%, 49.1%, 48.6% and 47.9% respectively. In HUTT positive patients, there were 51.4% (321/624) patients with mixed type of VVS, 28.7% (179/624) with vasodepressor type of VVS and 19.9% (124/624) with cardio-inhibitory type of VVS. The positive HUTT reaction was inlfuenced by the age as in male:x2=15.65, P=0.016 and in female:x2=18.84, P=0.004. For basic phase of HUTT, there were 74.8%of positive reactions started at 22.5 (17.5-27.5) min of the test without age difference, P>0.05;for sublingual nitroglycerin provocation phase of HUTT, there were 81.9%positive reactions started at 7.5 (5-10) min and the female was earlier than male (7.5 vs 10) min, P=0.004.
Conclusion: There were age and gender differences for HUTT diagnosing the patients with VVS for their positive rate, type and starting time.

Objective:To investigate the effect of Corchorus olitorius aqueous fraction (COAF) on quorum sensing (QS)-regulated virulence factors and biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1). Methods:The preliminary screening of the anti-QS effect of COAF was performed by evaluating the anti-pathogenic activity against Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 biosensor strain. Next, the inhibitory effects of COAF on QS-regulated pyocyanin production, proteolytic and elastolytic activities, swarming motility, and biofilm formation were evaluated in PAO1.Results:The results showed that the treatment of COAF significantly decreased the biofilm biomass, attenuated virulence factors, and inhibited swarming motility of PAO1 without affecting the growth of the bacteria in a dose-dependent manner. COAF at 2000 μg/mL significantly decreased Las B elastase activity in PAO1 culture, exopolysaccharide production, swarming motility, pyocyanin level, and biomass of PAO1 by 55％ (P<0.05), 60％ (P<0.01), 61％ (P<0.01), 65％(P<0.01) and 73％ (P<0.01), respectively. In addition, the production of violacein was decreased by 62％ (P<0.01) with the treatment of a high dose of COAF. Conclusions:These findings indicate that COAF can be a potential source of anti-QS agents.

Objective: Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder encompassing several phenotypes with various motor and cognitive deficits. We aimed to study motor and cognitive characteristics across PSP phenotypes and to assess the influence of apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene variants on PSP phenotypic expression. Methods: In this 20-year cross-sectional study, we retrospectively reviewed the charts of all patients classified as PSP patients and recategorized them according to phenotype using the Movement Disorder Society criteria (2017). Phenotypes were divided into three subgroups, Richardson’s syndrome (PSP-RS), PSP-cortical (PSP with predominant frontal presentation [PSP-F] + PSP with predominant speech/language disorder [PSP-SL] + PSP with predominant corticobasal syndrome [PSP-CBS]) and PSP-subcortical (PSP with predominant parkinsonism [PSP-P] + PSP with progressive gait freezing [PSP-PGF] + PSP with predominant postural instability [PSP-PI] + PSP with predominant ocular motor dysfunction [PSP-OM] + PSP with cerebellar ataxia [PSP-C] + PSP with primary lateral sclerosis [PSP-PLS]), based on clinical presentation during the first 3 years after symptom onset, which defines the early disease stage. Clinical and neuropsychological assessment data were collected. Genotyping of APOE was performed using restriction fragment length polymorphism polymerase chain reaction and verified by Sanger sequencing. Results: We included 112 PSP patients comprising 10 phenotypes classified into 48 PSP-RS, 34 PSP-cortical (PSP-CBS, 17.6%; PSP-F, 9.4%; PSP-SL, 8.2%) and 30 PSP-subcortical (PSP-P, 11.6%; PSP-PI, 8%; PSP-OM, 2.7%; PSP-PGF, 1.8%; PSP-C, 1.8%; PSP-PLS, 0.9%) subgroups. PSP-RS patients were older at disease onset (p = 0.009) and had more akinetic-rigid and levodopa-resistant parkinsonism (p = 0.006), while PSP-cortical patients had more tremors and asymmetric and/or levodopa-responsive parkinsonism (p = 0.025). Cognitive domains were significantly less altered in the PSP-subcortical subgroup. Overall, PSP-APOEε4 carriers developed parkinsonism earlier (p = 0.038), had earlier oculomotor dysfunction (p = 0.052) and had more altered cognitive profiles. The APOEε4 allele was also associated with a younger age of parkinsonism onset in the PSP-RS phenotype group (p = 0.026). Conclusion This study demonstrated the wide phenotypic spectrum of PSP among Tunisians. Disease onset and akinetic-rigid and levodopa-resistant parkinsonism were the hallmarks of the PSP-RS phenotype, while milder cognitive impairment was characteristic of the PSP-subcortical subgroup. The APOEε4 allele was associated with earlier parkinsonism and oculomotor dysfunction and seemed to play a role in defining a more altered cognitive profile in PSP patients.

Objective: LRRK2-G2019S is the most frequent mutation in North African Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. Data on its impact on disease progression and treatment response remain elusive. Therefore, we investigated the clinical features, treatments, and complications of PD in Tunisian patients according to their LRRK2-G2019S profile. Methods: This longitudinal retrospective study was performed in the Department of Neurology, Razi University Hospital. We included clinically diagnosed PD patients according to the Movement Disorders Society criteria and reviewed their medical records for clinical, treatment, and neuropsychological assessments. All patients were screened for the LRRK2-G2019S mutation using Sanger sequencing. The correlation between LRRK2-G2019S and clinical PD features was evaluated. Results: We included 393 PD patients, 41.5% of whom had LRRK2-G2019S mutations. Patients with mutations were younger (p = 0.017), and female PD patients had a greater mutation frequency (p = 0.008). Mutation carriers exhibited distinct clinical features, with a greater frequency of postural instability gait difficulty forms (adjusted-p < 0.001). During disease progression, carriers showed a faster annual progression in the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Section III scores (adjusted-p = 0.009), and significantly higher levodopa equivalent dose values in later stages (1060.81 vs. 877.83 for 6-8 years). Motor complications, such as dyskinesia (adjusted-p < 0.001) and motor fluctuations (31.9% vs. 25.7%, adjusted-p < 0.001), were more prevalent in carriers, particularly in the later stages. LRRK2-G2019S carriers also exhibited a lower prevalence of non-motor symptoms, including episodic memory (adjusted-p < 0.001), attention (adjusted-p < 0.001), and dysexecutive disorders (adjusted-p = 0.038), as well as neuropsychiatric symptoms and dysautonomic signs. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that the variability of the clinical profile among Tunisian PD patients was explained by the incomplete penetrance of LRRK2-G2019S, which increased with age. Further studies using biomarker and disease progression data are necessary to improve PD management.