Articles

Background: Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the most important grain legume crops in Egypt and many other countries of the world because the seeds offer a low-cost source of protein, lysine, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. Chocolate spot disease is a stress-related fungal disease produced by Botrytis fabae that causes plant damage, limits photosynthetic activity, and reduces yield. Results: Trichoderma atroviride greatly reduced mycelial growth by 90.00% in vitro, followed by T. harzianum (86.67%) and T. album (83.89%) on average. In vivo, all studied antagonists dramatically reduced Botrytis fabae disease incidence and severity in both seasons 2021/22 and 2022/23. T. atroviride showed the highest efficacy bioagent (73.55 and 85.15%), followed by T. harzianum (72.55 and 81.22%), in controlling B. fabae of faba bean plants in both seasons. In addition, the results also showed that all tested biological treatments had an impact on yield components and increased levels of chlorophyll, protein%, phenols, flavonoids, Peroxidase (PO), polyphenol Oxidase (PPO), chitinase, and -1, 3-glucanase activities compared to control treatment in both seasons. In this regard, spraying T. atroviride showed the highest efficacy as a bioagent, followed by T. harzianum. Contrary, T. hamatum showed the lowest efficacy compared to other treatments in both seasons. Conclusion: This investigation was carried out to determine the effectiveness of several different antagonists, i.e., T. album, T. atrovirde, T. hamatum, and T. harzianum (30 x 106 spore/ml), Blight Stop, and Bio Zeid, for controlling Botrytis fabae on bean plants and evaluating their effect on yield parameters, components, and quality.

Introduction: Adolescents and young adults often engage in oral sex. However, the factors affecting the development of agreeing with oral sex are not clear enough.Objective: We aimed to assess the degree of agreement with oral sex among high school students and to search for background factors affecting this.Material and method: We conducted a quantitative cross-sectional study among 157 females and 38 male high school students over the age of eighteen by using an anonymous, paper-based, multiple-choice, self-administered questionnaire. For statistical analysis, we used descriptive statistics, two-sample t-tests, and Spearman rank correlation. Results: Of the respondents 67.9% were sexually active and 31.6% of them had more than one sexual partner. Of males 97.1% and of females 84.9% agreed with accepting oral sex. Degree of agreement with oral sex was higher in those who had had partnered sexual experience, and in those females who more frequently met close friends outside of school. Most participants were not in a current relationship with a partner, and for those who were, its duration did not affect the degree of accepting oral sex. The degree of agreement with the proficiency in male sexuality, and the degree of agreement with those dimensions of sexuality that most expressed the sexual drive and the desire to gratify it with the partner showed the strongest positive correlation with the degree of agreement with oral sex. In addition, the degree of agreement with the items of expressing sexual openness showed correlations with the degree of accepting oral sex. Conclusion: The degree of agreement with oral sex is high among high school students. Among the factors influencing this, the intensity of meeting friends seems to be important. We therefore recommend that the schools improve sex education in groups, highlighting the risks of oral sex, to reach the target individuals and their friends as well as their potential partners.

Naturalistic enclosures have become a popular exhibition technique for zoos, and reptiles and amphibians are regularly housed in these exhibits. While a considerable sum of research indicates that visitors prefer naturalistic exhibits, there are fewer studies documenting the behaviour and welfare of animals housed under these conditions. This study investigated the impact of a naturalistic enclosure on the behaviour of the turquoise dwarf gecko (Lygodactylus williamsi), and the welfare perceptions of visitors. When kept under naturalistic enclosures, dwarf geckos were seen to bask (p = 0.022), and engage in inactive behaviours (p = 0.001) significantly less frequently. A non-significant decrease was also seen in locomotion | (p = 0.074). While time spent hidden remains a confounding factor for behavioural analysis, the study indicates that when provided with hiding opportunities, L. williamsi may spend a considerable amount of time hidden from the public. Questionnaire analysis revealed that 84.6% of individuals believed that naturalistic enclosures demonstrated better welfare. Additionally, individuals who had previously owned a reptile were more likely to identify that areas to hide, enrich, and mimic the natural environment were important aspects of enclosure design. While the actual benefits of naturalistic enclosure design cannot be fully addressed by this study, this work suggests that visitors tend to inherently believe that naturalistic enclosures facilitate better welfare, even if they are not aware of the natural environment of the species being housed. This requires keepers to consider both aspects of functionality and enclosure relevance when designing exhibits for herptiles.

Aim: Kidney stone disease, which can affect people of all ages and whose incidence increases day by day, is becoming a public health problem due to treatment costs. This study aims to determine how factors related to kidney stones affect the diagnosis of the disease when taken together, rather than determining their relationship with the disease one by one.Materials and methods: An open-access dataset containing kidney stone status and associated factors was used in the study. Mann Whitney U test and independent sample t-test were used in data analysis. Logistic regression was performed with the backward variable selection method to determine the factors associated with kidney stones. ROC analysis was used to determine the power of the variables that were significant as a result of logistic regression analysis, individually and together, in discriminating kidney stones.Results: According to the results of logistic regression analysis, gravity, cond, and urea calc variables were found to be associated with kidney stones. With ROC analysis, it can be said that urea, calc, and gravity variables with AUC values above 0.60 can distinguish kidney stones. When the combinations of these variables are examined, the AUC values of the binary combinations are between 0.734 and 0.759, while the AUC value obtained for the triple combination is 0.831.Conclusion: According to the results obtained from the article, it can be said that while the factors associated with the disease and used in the diagnosis have little effect on the diagnosis of the disease alone based on the AUC values obtained from the ROC analysis, it can be said that considering them together increases the accuracy in diagnosis. Therefore, considering the factors thought to be associated with the disease together may be more appropriate in diagnosis and may give more accurate results.

Patients with heart failure may live longer if they receive chronic treatment with beta-adrenergic blocking medications. Unresolved are the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects and if they may be applied to ischemic heart failure. Rats (n = 28) underwent echocardiographic-Doppler exams one and six weeks following a simulated operation or myocardial infarction (MI). After the first echocardiography, rats were randomized to either no therapy or 500 mg/l of propranolol in their drinking water. The noninfected left ventricular (LV) papillary muscles were used to record isometric contractions and intracellular Ca transients simultaneously.Untreated MI rats had a restrictive LV diastolic filling pattern, decreased systolic function (13% ± 2%), and significant LV dilatation (10.6 ± 0.4 mm vs. 8.9 ± 0.3 mm, MI vs. control). The LV chamber diameters of the propranolol-treated MI rats were 10.6 ± 0.5 mm, and systolic performance (13% ± 2%). Higher LV end-diastolic pressures (27 ± 2 mmHg vs. 20 ± 3 mmHg) and a more constrained LV diastolic filling pattern (increased ratio of early to late filling velocities and faster E wave deceleration rate) were seen in the propranolol-treated animals. Papillary muscle contractility in untreated MI rats was lower (1.6 ± 0.3 g mm²). Furthermore, the inotropic response to isoproterenol was attenuated, and Ca transients were extended. During isoproterenol stimulation, beta-adrenergic blocking administration had no effect on force development (1.6 ± 0.3 g mm²) or the length of Ca transients.Rats with postinfarction heart failure receiving chronic propranolol treatment did not have improvements in systolic function or LV remodeling. Propranolol exacerbated LV diastolic pressures and filling patterns. Additionally, there was no discernible improvement in intracellular contractility following treatment, Calcium control, or beta-adrenergic sensitivity in the myocardium that is not infarcted).

Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, and regenerative potentials. Additionally, utilization of MSCs in the clinical arena has been shown to be safe and well tolerated. Hence, this form of cellular therapy has gained particular attention in the treatment of several infectious disorders and their complications. MSCs have been successfully used in the treatment of the following infections and their complications: bacterial infections including complicated sepsis; viral infections including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), hepatitis B and C viruses, and Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome; parasitic infections including schistosomiasis, malaria, and Chagas disease; and mycobacterial infections including tuberculosis. The use of MSCs derived from certain sources and Extracellular Vesicles (ECVs) derived from MSCs has improved their efficacy and reduced their side effects. However, the clinical application of MSCs in the treatment of several infectious diseases still faces real challenges that need to be resolved. The current status of MSCs and the controversies related to their utilization in various infections will be thoroughly discussed in this review. 

Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) is a major limitation to the success of allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT) as Steroid-Refractory (SR) acute GVHD carries poor prognosis due to the absence of an efficacious second-line therapy. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) which have immunosuppressive, immunomodulatory, and regenerative properties may become a highly effective therapeutic modality for SR-GVHD in the near future. MSCs have already been approved to treat childhood SR-GVHD in Japan, and they have been conditionally licensed in New Zealand and Canada. It is expected that MSCs will be approved for the treatment of SR-GVHD in adults in Europe, North America, and other parts of the world within a few years. Utilization of the recently introduced techniques including the use of MSC products such as exosomes and Extracellular Vesicles (ECVs) instead of the parent MSCs, robotic manufacturing technology, and genetic engineering of MSCs will ultimately overcome the remaining obstacles facing the widespread utilization of MSCs and their products as therapeutics not only in HSCT but also in other medical fields. The aim of this review is to provide an update on the remarkable progress achieved in the use of MSCs and their products in the field of HSCT.

In eastern Uttar Pradesh, fascioliasis, an endemic zoonotic disease, is quite prevalent. Essential oils that are produced from various plants are extremely important to human health. The current study found that the essential oils from Tachyspermum ammi seeds and Syzygium aromaticum cloves are effective herbal molluscicides against the vector snail Lymnaea acuminata. Syzygium aromaticum cloves and Tachyspermum ammi seeds are used to extract their essential oils using both conventional and unconventional techniques, such as solvent extraction (SE) and hydrodistillation (HD). The results section makes it evident that both of the essential oils from Syzygium aromaticum clove and Tachyspermum ammi seeds have a high level of molluscicidal activity (24-hour LC50 values are 3.01 and 2.35), particularly against the vector snail Lymnaea acuminata. The current investigation unequivocally showed that the exposed vector snails to the essential oils are extremely harmful. The aim of the present investigation is to establish the molluscicidal activity of the essential oils of Syzygium aromaticum clove and Tachyspermum ammi seeds against the vector snail Lymnaea acuminata.

In 2018, a survey of rust fungi and their associated hosts was attempted in the thandiani regions of Pakistan. In this paper, we provided descriptions and illustrations of six rust species viz. Melampsora euphorbiae, Phragmidium barclayi, Puccinia ambegua, Pucciniia calcitraipae, Pucciniia mentha and Puccinia ustalis. The Melampsora euphorbiae, Puccinia ambegua, and Puccinia ustalis were collected as a new host record from Abbottabad. Most of the rust fungi were collected from herbaceous wild plants. This study suggests further exploration of the area of rust disease in order to assess the diversity of these fungi. This research work is an addition to available data related to the Urediniales of Pakistan having special reference to Abbottabad District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Background: The recruitment of experienced clinical nurses into vacant faculty positions is a global strategy for preparing, employing, and retaining competent nurse educators. As clinical nurses transition to academia, many struggle with unique challenges that affect their adaptation to the academic setting. Thus, understanding novice nurse educators’ transitional challenges is critical to addressing this threat. Aim: This study aimed to explore the challenges of novice nurse educators’ transition from clinical practice to academia in Ghana. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study design was employed for this study. A purposive sampling technique was used to recruit 12 novice nurse educators from three health training institutions in the Upper East Region of Ghana. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data through in-depth individual interviews. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analyzed.Results: Four themes emerged: poor administrative support, poor preparation, increased workload and stress, and role ambiguity. Novice nurse educators lacked formal orientation, formal mentorship, formal education in teaching, and post-graduate education. Novices were also challenged by increased workload and role ambiguity. Conclusion: Supporting novice nurse educators' transition from clinical practice would be better served by college administrators’ creation and implementation of formal orientation and mentorship programs.