Curcumin, Piperine and Taurine Combination Enhances the Efficacy of Transarterial Chemoembolization Therapy in patients with Intermediate Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Pilot Study.

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosis of the majority of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients occurs at intermediate to advanced stages, with a few curative therapeutic options being available. It is therefore strongly urgent to discover additional adjuvant therapy for this lethal malignancy. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of curcumin (C), piperine (P) and taurine (T) combination as adjuvant agents on serum levels of IFN-γ, immunophenotypic and molecular characterization of mononuclear leukocytes (MNLs) in HCC patients treated with Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Serum and MNLs were collected from 20 TACE-treated HCC patients before (baseline-control samples) and after treatment with 5 g curcumin capsules , 10 mg piperine and 0.5 mg taurine taken daily for three consecutive months. Immunophenotypic and molecular characterization of MNLs were determined by flow cytometry and quantitative real time PCR, respectively. In addition, serum IFN-γ level was quantified by ELISA. RESULTS: After receiving treatment with CPT combination, there was a highly significant increase in IFN- γ levels in the sera of patients when compared to basal line control samples. Additionally, the group receiving combined therapy demonstrated a downregulation in the expression levels of PD-1, in MNLs as compared to controls. MNLs' immunophenotyping revealed a significant decline in CD4+CD25+cells (regulatory T lymphocytes). Furthermore, clinicopathological characteristics revealed a highly significant impact of CPT combination on aspartate aminotransferase (AST), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alpha feto protein (AFP) levels. CONCLUSION: This study introduces a promising adjuvant CPT combined treatment as natural agents to enhance the management of HCC patients who are candidates to TACE treatment.

Recent advances in transesterification for sustainable biodiesel production, challenges, and prospects: a comprehensive review.

Biodiesel, a renewable and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, has garnered significant attention as a potential solution to the growing energy crisis and environmental concerns. The review commences with a thorough examination of feedstock selection and preparation, emphasizing the critical role of feedstock quality in ensuring optimal biodiesel production efficiency and quality. Next, it delves into the advancements in biodiesel applications, highlighting its versatility and potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. The heart of the review focuses on transesterification, the key process in biodiesel production. It provides an in-depth analysis of various catalysts, including homogeneous, heterogeneous, enzyme-based, and nanomaterial catalysts, exploring their distinct characteristics and behavior during transesterification. The review also sheds light on the transesterification reaction mechanism and kinetics, emphasizing the importance of kinetic modeling in process optimization. Recent developments in biodiesel production, including feedstock selection, process optimization, and sustainability, are discussed, along with the challenges related to engine performance, emissions, and compatibility that hinder wider biodiesel adoption. The review concludes by emphasizing the need for ongoing research, development, and collaboration among academia, industry, and policymakers to address the challenges and pursue further research in biodiesel production. It outlines specific recommendations for future research, paving the way for the widespread adoption of biodiesel as a renewable energy source and fostering a cleaner and more sustainable future.

Clinical and prognostic significance of CD27 and CD44 expression patterns in Egyptian pediatric patients with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: The expression pattern of CD27 and CD44 was found to correlate with the differentiation stages of B cell precursors, which were known to be involved in a variety of immunological responses. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to determine the biological significance of CD27 and CD44 expression in patients with B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), as well as their association with standard prognostic factors and therapeutic response. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This case-control study included 60 pediatric patients newly diagnosed with B-ALL and 30 pediatric controls. The patient CD27 and CD44 levels were measured using the Beckman Coulter Navios Flow Cytometer. RESULTS: Most malignant cells (91.6 %) expressed CD44, but only 50 % of the patients had CD27 expressed. The positive CD 44 expression was associated with unfavorable prognostic markers, including a decrease.

Leukemia Stem Cell Frequency at Diagnosis Correlates With Measurable/Minimal Residual Disease and Impacts Survival in Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogenous disease in which the initiation and maintenance of the malignant clone is blamed on a rare population of leukemia stem cells (LSCs). The persistence of such a malignant population is referred to as measurable/minimal residual disease (MRD). Evaluation of MRD is the gold standard for follow-up of therapy and constitutes an independent prognostic parameter. As LSCs are the main contributor to the persistence of MRD, then MRD should correlate with the bulk of LSCs at the individual case level. MRD is measured at defined time points during therapy. However, LSCs can be evaluated at diagnosis, which ensures the advantage of early prediction of high-risk patients and allows for early therapeutic decisions. Using two simple four-color monoclonal antibody combinations (CD38/CD123/CD34/CD45 and CD90/CD133/CD45/CD33) and the prism function of the Coulter Navios flow cytometer, the frequency of LSC subsets was evaluated in 84 newly diagnosed adult AML patients. For each panel, 16 possible combinations were detected. Our results showed that there was extreme variability in the percentage of the LSC fraction between different cases, as well as at the individual case level. For each LSC subset, the median value was used to divide cases into low and high expressors. LSC subsets that showed an impact on overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) included CD123+, CD 123+/CD34-, CD34-/CD38+/CD123+, CD34+/CD38-/CD123+, CD133+, and CD133+/CD33-. On multivariate analysis, only CD123 (p ≤ 0.001, SE = 0.266, HR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.74.7) and CD133+/CD33- (p = 0.017, SE = 0.263, HR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.1-3.1) retained their significance for OS. Likewise, only CD34+/CD38-/CD123+ (p ≤ 0.001, HR 2.3, SE: 0.499, 95% CI: 2.4-17.4) and CD133 (p = 0.015, HR 2.3, SE 0.34, 95% CI: 1.2-4.4) retained their statistical significance for DFS. The LSC frequency at diagnosis showed a moderate to strong correlation with MRD status at day 14 and day 28. In conclusion, the level of LSCs at diagnosis correlated with MRD status at day 14 and day 28 in AML patients and had a deleterious impact on OS and DFS. It may be used as an early marker for high-risk patients allowing for early therapeutic decisions.

Evaluation of prognostic variables in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and association with disease stage.

The aim of the present study was to investigate different biological prognostic markers to identify high-risk patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with a higher tumor burden, in order to ensure appropriate management. A total of 81 Egyptian patients with CLL were enrolled in the present study, with 75 healthy subjects serving as the control group. The expression of CD49d, CD38 and ZAP-70 in CLL cells was assessed using flow cytometry. The fluorescence in situ hybridization technique was employed to evaluate TP53 (del17p), ataxia-telangiectasia (del11q) and 13q14 (del13q14) genes and the presence of trisomy 12. The serological markers ß2 microglobulin (B2M) and sCD23 were measured by ELISA. The CD49d gene was highly expressed in 25.9% and cytogenetic aberrations were observed in 66.6% of all recruited CLL patients. The patients were categorized according to the Binet staging system and a significant increase in the expression of sCD23, CD49d and ZAP-70 was detected in group C (P=0.008, 0.034 and 0.017, respectively) when compared to groups A and B. CD49d+ patients exhibited significantly higher expression of CD38 (P=0.002) and trisomy 12 (P=0.015) and lower expression of del13q14 (P=0.001). Patients who were CD49d+ with B2M>3.5 µg/ml exhibited higher total leukocyte count (P=0.048), higher absolute lymphocyte count (P=0.036), higher expression of CD38 (P=0.002) and trisomy 12 (P=0.034) and lower expression of del13q14 (P=0.002). Therefore, sCD23, CD49d and ZAP-70 may be considered as an optimal prognostic marker combination to be evaluated in the early stages of CLL and throughout disease management. Integrating both serological markers and CD49d expression by flow cytometry may add to the prognostic value of each marker alone and help identify high-risk patients with a higher tumor burden.

Diabetes Mellitus and Its Associated Factors in Tuberculosis Patients in Maekel Region, Eritrea: Analytical Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Both diabetes mellitus (DM) and tuberculosis (TB) are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Eritrea. TB-DM comorbidity is known to complicate TB care, control and prevention. However, systematically studied epidemiological data on TB-DM comorbidity and its associated risk factors are lacking in this country. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of DM and its associated factors among TB patients in the Maekel region, Eritrea. METHODS: Analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in eleven TB diagnostic and treatment sites. Pretested data extraction tool was used to collect data from medical records. Prevalence data were analysed using frequencies, proportions and median. To determine DM risk factors, univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis was done with 95% CI and p value < 0.05 considered significant. RESULTS: Out of total eligible (1134) TB cases, DM prevalence was 9.88%. Age and BMI were identified as independent risk factors for DM among TB patients. Higher odds of DM were found among TB patients aged 45-54 (aOR: 4.85[1.39-16.94], p= 0.013) and those ≥55 (aOR: 6.99[2.12-23.04], p= 0.001). TB cases with normal BMI were two times more likely to have DM (aOR: 2.00[1.23-3.26], p= 0.005) compared to those underweight. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of DM among TB cases observed in this study is high, a clarion call to scale up current efforts to integrate TB-DM services within routine care. Furthermore, age and BMI were identified as independent risk factors for DM in TB cases, pointing to the need to pay attention to age and BMI status when managing this co-morbidity.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia-like treatment regimen provides better response in mixed phenotype acute leukemia: a comparative study between adults and pediatric MPAL patients.

Mixed phenotype acute leukemia (MPAL) is a rare type of leukemia with a limited number of studies conducted to characterize its clinical spectrum and most importantly the best treatment modality. MPAL blasts show more than one phenotype either myeloid/monocytic with T- or B-lymphoid or extremely rare triple lineage associated phenotypic markers. This study aimed to characterize MPAL cases with special emphasis on comparing adult and pediatric age groups, exploring treatment regimens, and clinical outcome. Among 2571 acute leukemia patients, 102 MPAL cases fulfilling the 2008/2016 WHO diagnostic criteria of MPAL were recruited in the study. The incidence of MPAL was 4% of acute leukemia patients. Pediatric cases were 54 (53%) while adults were 48/102 (47%). Myeloid/B-lymphoid phenotype was found in 86/102 (84%), with BCR-ABL fusion gene transcript detected in 14/102(13.7%) patients. ALL-like treatment showed better response rates as compared with the myeloid based regimen (p = 0.001). MPAL behaves in a manner that resembles in clinical features, their lymphoid progenitor counterpart leukemias both in adults and pediatric patients with superior treatment response to ALL-like regimen, especially in adults.

ITGA4 gene methylation status in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate ITGA4 gene expression pattern and to explore its methylation heterogeneity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). PATIENTS & METHODS: Eighty one CLL patients and 75 healthy subjects were enrolled and prognostic evaluation of patients was assessed. ITGA4 q-realtime PCR was performed using Applied Biosystems, TaqMan gene expression assay. ITGA4 gene-specific CpG methylation was investigated in real time using pyrosequencing technology. RESULTS: ITGA4 was differentially expressed in CLL patients. The CpG sites-1, 2 and 3 showed significantly higher mean levels than healthy controls (p = <0.001, 0.007 and 0.009). Significant association between CpG site-1 and CLL has been detected using age-adjusted logistic regression (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Hypermethylation at ITGA4 gene CpG sites (1,2,3) is a characteristic feature in CLL.

A Profile of Active Transportation in Colorado Public Schools, 2014-2015.

Active transportation (AT) may represent an ideal opportunity to accumulate physical activity (PA). Thus, the purpose of this study was to describe the AT profile among students from two Colorado school districts. Students completed a survey on AT resulting in a final dataset (n = 3738) from which descriptive and inferential statics were calculated. Respondents were 11.32 ± 2.82 years of age (Boys = 48.27 %; Girls = 51.73 %). Most students (87.29 %) traveled to or from school via automobile, while 11.17 % walked and 1.53 % biked. Boys rode bicycles to school significantly more (p < 0.0001) than girls, and when walking, accumulated significantly more time (p = 0.02) than females. When examining by grade level significant differences were found for days/week walking (p = 0.0002) to school and biking (p < 0.001) to school. High school students accumulated significantly (p < 0.0001) more time walking to school than middle or elementary school students. Similarly, high school students spent more time biking (p < 0.0001) to school than middle school and elementary school respondents. These findings indicate that travel to school by automobile is still the dominant mode of travel for most public school students. Further, males were generally more likely to obtain extra time in AT. Moreover, older students were more likely to engage in AT, and to spend more time during their AT.

Adhesion molecules expression in CLL: Potential impact on clinical and hematological parameters.

BACKGROUND: B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is marked by the accumulation of CD5+ B lymphocytes within the blood, bone marrow (BM), and secondary lymphoid tissues. Abnormalities in the expression and function of cell adhesion molecules may account for the patterns of intra-nodal growth and hematogenous spread of the malignant cells. Chemokines and integrin-mediated adhesion and trans-endothelial migration (TEM) are central aspects in trafficking and retention of hematopoietic cells in the BM and lymphoid organs. AIM OF THE WORK: This work was conducted to study adhesion molecules status in CLL and its potential impact on both hematological and clinical parameters. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 78 newly diagnosed CLL patients. Immunophenotyping was performed on peripheral blood using the chronic lymphoid panel. Adhesion molecules (CD11a, CD11b, CD49d, CD49C, CD29 and CD38) were tested using monoclonal antibodies and analyzed by Flow Cytometry. RESULTS: Positive correlation was encountered between adhesion molecules: CD38 with CD49d (r=0.25, p=0.028), CD11a with CD11b, CD49d and CD29 (r=0.394, p=0.001; r=0.441, p=<0.01 and r=0.446, p<0.01 respectively) and CD29 with CD49c and CD49d (r=0.437, p<0.01; r=0.674, p<0.01 respectively). CD49c showed negative correlation with Rai staging (r=-0.269, p=0.033). CD11a and CD29 showed a significant relation with splenomegaly (p=0.04 and 0.03 respectively) and CD49d showed a significant relation with lymphadenopathy (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: The level of different adhesion molecules expression in CLL is apparently reflected on the potential migratory behavior of the leukemic cells to different organs.