Aims: This study focused on new fish feed additives that could supply a nutritional value and inhibit or eliminate mycotoxins. Four novel feed additives, including Albizia lebbeck (L.), Leucaena leucocephala leaf extracts, Serendipita indica and Bacillus megaterium were applied to contaminated fish feed; besides investigating the toxicity of these new fish feed additives. Methodology and results : Our data exhibited that the different tested feed additives were not toxic for brine shrimp larvae or fish. Albizia lebbeck extract at a concentration 0.5% was highly effective in detoxifying mycotoxins with efficacy ratios of 88.01%, 93.89% and 92.89% for aflaB1, aflaG1 and CPA, respectively and L. leucocephala at 0.5% had efficacy ratios of 93.52% and 100% for aflaG1 and CPA, respectively. The addition of S. indica with a concentration of 0.75% was highly effective for the usage of good feed approximately free of mycotoxins, with efficacy ratios of 85.65%, 90.81% and 100% for aflaB1, aflaG1 and CPA, respectively. Moreover, B. megaterium, with a concentration of 0.75% was recommended for detoxification. Conclusion, significance and impact of study Studied new feed additives as feed additives in fish diets to eliminate mycotoxin with the potential of providing antioxidant activity. Results suggest that mycotoxins degradation can happen in vitro and in vivo by applying new fish feed additives in the fish diet.

Spinal epidural hematomas (SEHs) are rare complications following spine surgery, especially for single level lumbar discectomies. The appropriate surgical management for such cases remains to be investigated. We report a case of an extensive spinal epidural hematoma from T11-L5 following a L3-L4 discectomy. The patient underwent a single level L4. A complete evacuation of the SEH resulted in the patient's full recovery. When presenting symptoms limited to the initial surgical site reveal an extensive postoperative SEH, we propose: to tailor the surgical exposure individually based on preoperative findings of the SEH; and to begin the surgical exposure with a limited laminectomy focused on the symptomatic levels that may allow an efficient evacuation of the SEH instead of a systematic extensive laminectomy based on imaging.
Diskectomy ; Emergencies ; Hematoma ; Hematoma, Epidural, Spinal ; Humans ; Laminectomy ; Spine

Objective: This study investigated the impact of two stimulation protocols using highly purified human menopausal gonadotropin (HP-hMG) on the endocrine profile, follicular fluid soluble Fas levels, and outcomes of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles. Methods: This prospective clinical trial included 100 normal-responder women undergoing ovarian stimulation for ICSI; 55 patients received concomitant follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) plus HP-hMG from the start of stimulation, while 45 patients received FSH followed by HP-hMG during mid/late follicular stimulation. The primary outcome was the number of top-quality embryos. The secondary outcomes were the number and percentage of metaphase II (MII) oocytes and the clinical pregnancy rate. Results: The number of MII oocytes was significantly higher in the concomitant protocol (median, 13.0; interquartile range [IQR], 8.5–18.0 vs. 9.0 [8.0–13.0] in the consecutive protocol; p=0.009); however, the percentage of MII oocytes and the fertilization rate were significantly higher in the consecutive protocol (median, 90.91; IQR, 80.0–100.0 vs. 83.33 [75.0–93.8]; p=0.034 and median, 86.67; IQR, 76.9–100.0 vs. 77.78 [66.7–89.9]; p=0.028, respectively). No significant between-group differences were found in top-quality embryos (p=0.693) or the clinical pregnancy rate (65.9% vs. 61.8% in the consecutive vs. concomitant protocol, respectively). The median follicular fluid soluble Fas antigen level was significantly higher in the concomitant protocol (9,731.0 pg/mL; IQR, 6,004.5–10,807.6 vs. 6,350.2 pg/mL; IQR, 4,382.4–9,418.4; p=0.021). Conclusion Personalized controlled ovarian stimulation using HP-hMG during the late follicular phase led to a significantly lower response, but did not affect the quality of ICSI.

Background: Lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs) are a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by an uncontrolled production of monoclonal lymphocytes. RECAF is the receptor for alpha-fetoprotein, which is re-expressed on malignant cells, thus serving as a broad-spectrum tumor marker. Methods: The current study is a retrospective study carried out on 200 archival bone marrow trephine biopsy specimens [60 normal control (NC), 38 pathological control (PC) and 102 lymphoproliferative diseases (LPD) specimens]. RECAF expression was assessed using immunohistochemistry. Results: The percentage of cells that are positive for RECAF was significantly higher in the LPD group than in the NC group (P=0.007), while there was no significant difference between non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients and PC regarding the number of RECAF positive cells (P=0.1). RECAF showed a unique expression pattern among the different subtypes of LPD. None of the hairy cell leukemia (HCL) expressed RECAF, while the highest percentage was seen in follicular lymphoma (FL) and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) (P=0.001). Compared to routine histopathology, RECAF was more sensitive in detecting bone marrow (BM) infiltration in FL, mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and DLBCL (P=0.01). Conclusion RECAF is significantly expressed in the BM of NHL/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. RECAF shows a unique expression pattern among the different subtypes of LPD.Furthermore, RECAF may help to detect bone marrow infiltration in lymphoma cells. This may help in the diagnosis, follow-up, and targeting of LPD.

Objective: The present study aimed to detect the behavioral problems pre- and post-cochlear implantation in comparison to normal hearing group to be able to manage these problems to get more benefit from using cochlear implants. Methods: A case-control study included 53 children was done. They were divided into 2 groups, the control group included 28 healthy volunteers with normal hearing and the case group included 25 children with severe to profound hearing loss, fitted for cochlear implantation. The Arabic Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) was used to detect different behavioral problems in both groups. Case group children were followed up and reassessed again by CBCL 3 months later after cochlear implantation. Results: There were highly significant differences regarding total scores of internalizing and externalizing domains of empirically based CBCL between the control group and the case group after cochlear implants (p=0.001). There were non-significant differences in children within case group (pre- and post-cochlear implantation) regarding emotional and behavioral problems on both empirically based and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-based CBCL. Conclusion For better results, it is necessary to include a specialist of psychosomatic medicine in the cochlear rehabilitation teamwork.

Aims: Potatoes are considered one of the most strategic vegetable crops all over the world. Alternaria alternata has recently contaminated certain potatoes farms in different regions in Egypt. Among thirteen samples from fifteen regions were studied in a precedent study. Our study was aimed to investigate the effect of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. Kurosaki suspension on inhibiting the growth of the three tested isolates of A. alternata and minimizing their mycotoxins production in vitro using three isolates with three levels of highly, moderate and low pathogenicity with unequal amounts of dual mycotoxins production. Methodology and results: Three isolates of A. alternata from three regions, Kom Hamada (KH3), Alamin (Alam1) and Nobaria (NO3), which were determined as a producer of tenuazonic acid (TeA) and alternariol monomethyl ether (AME) toxins. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) use as commercial fungicide was applied with three suspension concentrations (75, 150 and 300 μg/mL) as inhibitor for the two mycotoxins. Our results illustrated that the three tested isolates recorded high TeA and AME inhibition efficacies by increasing the Bt suspension concentration. The highest inhibitory concentration of Bt was at concentration 75 μg/mL for isolated from Nobaria third region (NO3) and Alam1 it was (99.83 and 99.74%) for mycotoxin (AME) while, TeA mycotoxin had the most inhibition percentage (99.58%) at concentration 150 μg/mL for the isolate (NO3). Conclusion, significance and impact of study The preliminary results of the study suggest that B. thuringiensis spores’ suspension with different concentrations can be used as anti-mycotoxigenic agents to inhibit the (TeA) and (AME) mycotoxins produced by Alternaria alternata.
Bacillus thuringiensis ; Alternaria--isolation & ; purification ; Solanum tuberosum

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.

Objective To study the antioxidant properties of Capparis spinosa (C. spinosa) honey and propolis and the effect of combined honey and propolis administration on urine volume and electrolytes in rats. Methods C. spinosa honey [1 000 mg/kg body weight (b.wt)], propolis (100 mg/kg b.wt), honey/propolis mixture (C. spinosa honey 1 000 mg/kg b.wt/ propolis extract 100 mg/kg b.wt), distilled water (1 mL/kg b.wt) and furosemide (10 mg/kg b.wt) were orally administered to five groups of rats for 21 d. Urine volume, blood and urine sodium, potassium and chloride were measured. The antioxidant activity of propolis and honey was assessed and their total phenols and flavonoids were determined. Results Propolis and C. spinosa honey contain polyphenols including flavonoids and propolis demonstrated higher antioxidant activities than honey. Honey significantly increased urine volume and urine electrolyte excretion. Propolis had no significant effect on urine volume, but co-administration of propolis and honey caused significant diuresis. No major changes were observed in plasma electrolytes with the use of honey, propolis or their combination. Conclusions Honey and propolis have antioxidant activity and contain polyphenols including flavonoids that are more pronounced in propolis. Honey has a significant diuretic activity alone or in combination with propolis. This is the first study comparing the diuretic effect of co-administration of propolis and C. spinosa honey with furosemide.