Phytochemical composition and bioactivities of Crataegus aronia as antioxidant, antibacterial and antioxidative stress in red blood cells - Is it a window of hope for children with glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.

Background: Crataegus aronia (C. aronia) extracts have been used medicinally since ancient times and are often utilized in traditional Arab medicine. An extensive study has revealed that Crataegus species have antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and hypotensive properties. Objectives: This work was performed to explore the phytochemical contents of C. aronia extract, as well as its antioxidant and antibacterial properties, and to assess the lipid peroxidation level as an oxidative stress biomarker in erythrocytes. Methods: Chemical constituents in the methanolic extract of C. aronia were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and their relative concentrations were determined. The antioxidant activity of C. aronia extract was determined using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays. The effect of C. aronia on the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the erythrocyte hemolysates was studied. Also, the crude extract was assessed for its antimicrobial activity through agar diffusion and microbroth dilution assays. Key findings: The DPPH IC50 value of the extract showed that the antioxidants activity was equal to (14.3 µg/mL) and according to FRAP assay, the antioxidant activity was in the range of 33.9 µmol-82.86 µmol Fe+2/g dw. The extract exerts a protective effect against oxidative stress in RBCs and shows a 50% inhibition of malonyldialdehyde (MDA) at 39.48 µg/mL extract. Minimum inhibitory concentrations were found in the range of 800-1000 µg/mL of leave extracts. The phytochemical analysis showed that the total phenols, flavonoids, and flavonols content were 494.071 mg GAE/g extract, 155.251 mg RE/g extract, and 103.2049 mg RE/g extract). C. aronia extract contains alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, and steroids. Crude extract of C. aronia was more potent in inhibiting the growth of B. subtilis, S. aureus and M. luteus with MIC and MBC values of 800,800 and 1000 µg/mL, respectively. According to GC-MS, 20 compounds were identified: dihydro-3-methylene-5-methyl-2-furanone (14.71%), hexanoic acid (6.57%), ethyl 3,5-ditert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoate (6.4%), N, N-dimethylheptadecan-1-amine (4.91%), methyl 2-oxobutanoate (4.14%), glyceraldehyde (3.98%), and 2-methoxy-1-(2-nitroethenyl)-3-phenylmethoxybenzene (3.16%), were the major constituents. Conclusion: This study may open a window of hope for children with Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase disorder by possible utilization of the active ingredients of C. aronia to minimize both oxidative stress and infection which negatively impact the disease sequelae.According to these in vitro experiments, this plant extract has a significant amount of natural antioxidants, which may aid in the protection of various oxidative stresses. As a result, employing the active components of C. aronia to minimize oxidative stress and infection, both of which have a detrimental impact on disease sequelae, may bring hope to children with Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase disorder.

Diagnostic Validity and Reliability of Low-Dose Prospective ECG-Triggering Cardiac CT in Preoperative Assessment of Complex Congenital Heart Diseases (CHDs).

For the precise preoperative evaluation of complex congenital heart diseases (CHDs) with reduced radiation dose exposure, we assessed the diagnostic validity and reliability of low-dose prospective ECG-gated cardiac CT (CCT). Forty-two individuals with complex CHDs who underwent preoperative CCT as part of a prospective study were included. Each CCT image was examined independently by two radiologists. The primary reference for assessing the diagnostic validity of the CCT was the post-operative data. Infants and neonates were the most common age group suffering from complex CHDs. The mean volume of the CT dose index was 1.44 ± 0.47 mGy, the mean value of the dose-length product was 14.13 ± 5.4 mGy*cm, and the mean value of the effective radiation dose was 0.58 ± 0.13 mSv. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of the low-dose prospective ECG-gated CCT for identifying complex CHDs were 95.6%, 98%, 97%, 97%, and 97% for reader 1 and 92.6%, 97%, 95.5%, 95.1%, and 95.2% for reader 2, respectively. The overall inter-reader agreement for interpreting the cardiac CCTs was good (κ = 0.74). According to the results of our investigation, low-dose prospective ECG-gated CCT is a useful and trustworthy method for assessing coronary arteries and making a precise preoperative diagnosis of complex CHDs.

A Turf-Based Feature Selection Technique for Predicting Factors Affecting Human Health during Pandemic.

Worldwide, COVID-19 is a highly contagious epidemic that has affected various fields. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and particular feature selection approaches, this study evaluates the aspects affecting the health of students throughout the COVID-19 lockdown time. The research presented in this paper plays a vital role in indicating the factor affecting the health of students during the lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. The research presented in this article investigates COVID-19's impact on student health using feature selections. The Filter feature selection technique is used in the presented work to statistically analyze all the features in the dataset, and for better accuracy. ReliefF (TuRF) filter feature selection is tuned and utilized in such a way that it helps to identify the factors affecting students' health from a benchmark dataset of students studying during COVID-19. Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosted Decision Trees (GBDT), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and 2- layer Neural Network (NN), helps in identifying the most critical indicators for rapid intervention. Results of the approach presented in the paper identified that the students who maintained their weight and kept themselves busy in health activities in the pandemic, such student's remained healthy through this pandemic and study from home in a positive manner. The results suggest that the 2- layer NN machine-learning algorithm showed better accuracy (90%) to predict the factors affecting on health issues of students during COVID-19 lockdown time.

A Novel SCNN1A Variation in a Patient with Autosomal-recessive Pseudohypoaldosteronism Type 1

Pseudohypoaldosteronism type 1 (PHA1) is an autosomal-recessive disorder characterized by defective regulation of body sodium (Na) levels. The abnormality results from mutations in the genes encoding subunits of the epithelial Na channel. Patients with PHA1 present in infancy as being in adrenal crisis. A 41-day-old female who presented with recurrent adrenal crisis did not adequately respond to hydrocortisone and required mineralocorticoid therapy. The patient's demographic data and clinical features were recorded. Blood samples were collected and tested for endocrine and metabolic characteristics and for use in genetic studies. Bidirectional Sanger sequencing of SCNN1A was conducted. The entire coding region of 12 exons and 20 bp of flanking intron were sequenced. Genetic analyses revealed a new mutation - c.729_730delAG (p.Val245Glyfs*65) - in SCNN1A exon four. Adrenal crisis during the neonatal period highlights the importance of early screening for PHA1. Genetic testing could help to anticipate the prognosis, severity, onset of the disease, and the mode of inheritance, especially given its extensive phenotype.

Screening for testicular adrenal rest tumors among children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia at King Fahad Medical City, Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the incidence of testicular adrenal rest tumors (TARTs) among male children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in tertiary care centers. METHODS: All male children aged 1-14 years diagnosed with CAH due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21 HOD), 11ß-hydroxylase deficiency, and 3ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency, confirmed by biochemical and/or genetic testing, underwent scrotal ultrasound examination to identify TARTs. After receiving the diagnosed patients' data, patients' electronic medical records were accessed to collect demographic data and scrotal ultrasound results, along with growth parameters and specific biochemical test results within 2 months of the ultrasound. RESULTS: TARTs were observed in 5 (10.9%) of 46 male children with CAH. Four patients with positive findings had 21 HOD classical CAH with salt loss and one had 21 HOD simple virilizing classical CAH. All patients had poor compliance and stage 2 bilateral TARTs. Three TART-positive patients (60.0%) had high ACTH levels, 5 patients (100%) had elevated 17-OHP levels, and 5 patients (100%) had advanced bone age. The youngest patient with positive findings was 4 years old. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of TARTs increases with age and can be present in young males with classical CAH with 21 HOD. It is associated with elevated 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) and advanced bone age SDS. TARTs are less likely to be associated with nonclassical CAH with 21 HOD or other less common CAHs due to 11ß-hydroxylase deficiencies and 3ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiencies in children. Our study recommends early and routine screening of TARTs in children with CAH.