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Citrus sinensis is a rich source of bioactive compounds  and has attracted attention due to its medicinal benefits. Historically regarded as agricultural waste, orange peel is rich in flavonoids, polyphenols, tannins, and essential oils with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant qualities. The phytochemicals in Citrus sinensis peel were used as natural reducing and stabilizing agents in the green synthesis method used in this work to create silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). This method is an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional nanoparticle production, eliminating the need for hazardous chemicals. Based on the study’s results, green-synthesized silver nanoparticles derived from Citrus sinensis peel extract offer a sustainable and biocompatible substitute for biomedical applications. The pharmaceutical and healthcare industries may find therapeutic uses for them due to their exceptional antibacterial, antioxidant, and anticancer properties.

This paper shows the developments and directions in feature processing. We begin by revisiting conventional feature processing methods, then focus on deep feature extraction techniques and the application of feature processing. The article also analyzes the current research challenges and outlines future development directions, providing valuable insights in related fields.

Mucinous cystadenoma constitutes 15% of epithelial ovarian tumors. In resource limited setting they may reach huge size as there is no regular medical checkup. This case series highlights these aspects along with diagnostic and surgical considerations.

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a well-tolerated home renal replacement therapy for patients with end-stage renal disease. One of the critical points for the success of a PD program is the care of the peritoneal catheter and the exit site. A target for the incidence of infections/year should not exceed 0,40. The aim of the study was to observe whether our exit-site cleansing and dressing method, which involves the application of silver-releasing dressing may be associated with a reduction in the incidence of exit-site infections compared to the data reported in the literature.The data of 51 patients attending the Peritoneal Dialysis DH of the AOU Federico II in Naples in the period between July 2021 and September 2023 were analyzed.Overall, 27670 catheter days were analyzed with an average incidence of 0.23 infections/year/patient. The average incidence (0.23) is lower than the target suggested by the ISPD (0.4 infections/year/patient) and the average estimated in the USA (0.5-0.6 infections/year/patient). The average incidence from 2021 to 2023, equal to 0.23 episodes/year/patient, is therefore lower than the incidence of 2014-2015 (0.38 episodes/year/patient), a two-year period in which we did not use dressings with silver Exit-Pad.The use of Exit-Pad silver ion-releasing dressings Ag may further hinder the development of such infections by reducing the failure of peritoneal treatment and the transition to hemodialysis.

Objectives: Hospitalization following a head injury is associated with high rates of disability that have a strong correlation with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Well-being is related to life satisfaction, quality of life, happiness, personal growth and flourishing, competence, self-acceptance, positive relationships, and autonomy. The well-being of patients and their primary caregivers is important when a patient is left with impaired mobility after neurosurgery. The aim of this study is to examine whether the well-being of patients and their primary caregivers will differ before and after neurosurgery, and whether well-being differs between patients with motor disability (WMD group) and those without, compared to those who are not - NMD group (non-motor disability).Methodology: 123 patients and their main caregivers were recruited. Of these, 62 were in the before neurosurgical group, 31 Patients and 31 caregivers. 61 in the after neurosurgical group, 30 Patients and 31 caregivers, of which there are 16 from WMD group and 15 from NMD. Main outcome measures: Two analyses of Variance (ANOVA) were conducted: for WMD and NMD separately. The results reveal a significant decrease in wellbeing for both, patient and main caregivers, but a stronger decline in well-being was observed among WMD, as indicated by a larger effect size (η² = 0.74) compared to the NMD (η² = 0.38). In addition, no significant effect between group and time of measurement was found, indicating that the decrease in wellbeing was not different among patients compared to their main caregivers. Conclusion: The findings highlight the multifaceted impact of neurosurgery on well-being, particularly for patients who remain with motor disabilities and their primary caregivers.The decline in well-being after neurosurgery highlights the need for improved social support and the importance of developing treatment programs that can help ease the process of coping with these phenomena and provide appropriate support for both patients and their primary caregivers.

Introduction: Flow analysis in the apical view of transthoracic echocardiography is validated to assess fluid responsiveness at the bedside. Still, it is not always reachable, especially in mechanically ventilated patients and during surgery. We compared it to supra-sternal and sub-xiphoid views to evaluate their validity in assessing fluid responsiveness in critically ill patients.Method: A cross-sectional prospective monocentric pilot study of three months duration has been led in the critical care unit for surgical emergencies of Ibn Sina University Hospital of Rabat (Morocco). We used the time-velocity index (VTI) and peak velocity variation (∆Vpeak) values correlation between the three acoustic windows as the main judgment criteria. Measurement of data was made in the Left Ventricle Outflow Tract (LVOT) in the 5-chamber apical view, Descending Thoracic Aorta (DTA) in the supra-sternal view, and Right Ventricle Outflow Tract (RVOT) in the sub-xiphoid view.Results: There were 14 adult patients involved in the study, and the data presented are preliminary results. There was no significant difference in VTI and ∆Vpeak values between the three acoustic windows at each time of the study protocol, with a very high correlation for initial VTI value between 5-chamber apical view and supra-sternal view (r = 0.96, p < 0.001), and sub-xiphoid view (r = 0.86, p < 0.001). A very high correlation of initial ∆Vpeak value was also observed between the 5-chamber apical view and supra-sternal view (rho = 0.89, p < 0.001) and sub-xiphoid view (rho = 0.79, p < 0.001).Discussion: Supra-sternal and sub-xiphoid views showed high potential to predict fluid responsiveness, but further data are needed to validate their use for this purpose in ICU and in operating room.

Vochysia haenkeana extract (Vh-E) was assessed against the neuromuscular blockade induced by Bothrops jararaca venom on chick biventer cervicis (BC) preparation. Pre- and post-venom incubation treatments (Pre-vit and Post-vit) were analysed here. Contractures ACh (110 µM) and KCl (20 mM) were evoked before and after addition of venom without stimulation. Vh-E (600 µg/mL) under Pre-vit was more efficient to neutralize the neuromuscular blockade by venom (40 µg/mL) [72.5±4.6% (venom) vs. 45.2±14% (Vh-E) of blockade, p<0.05, n=4]. Vh-E (600 µg/mL) did not cause significant changes under Post-vit [72.5±4.6% (venom) vs. 63.4±8.2% (Vh-E) of blockade, n=4]. The Pre-vit inhibited the blockade of the contracture to ACh (106±17% of response; n=4) while the Post-vit was able to attenuate the effect of the venom on this contracture (55±5% of response; n=4); related to those contractures to KCl both of treatments with Vh-E attenuated the blocker effect of the venom (62.5±7.7% and 55±5% of response for Pre-vit and Post-vit, respectively; n=4). In conclusion, Vh-E neutralizes partially the neuromuscular blockade in Pre-vit, an effect that can be related to preserved function of “extrinsic” post-synaptic receptors, by measured contractures in response to ACh. The myotoxicity of the venom was significantly reduced by Vh-E in both, Pre-vit and Post-vit, by measured contractures in response to KCl.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is one of the world’s major infectious diseases with 350 million people who are chronic carriers of HBV [1]. Significant minorities go on to develop liver cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma and over 1 million die annually from HBV-diseased liver. Janahi E. at faculty of science, Bahrain University, Bahrain has submitted the following information [2], on HBV-genome organization as part of his Ph.D. degree (2007) in Imperial College, England. HBV genomic organization has 4 Open Reading Frames (ORFs) i.e. Pre-S/S Gene, Pre-C/C ORF, P ORF and X ORF. Regulatory Elements has 4 promoters (pre S2, pre S1, C promoters and X promoters), Pregenomic RNA, Enhancers (Enh 1 and Enh 2) where they are involved in cccDNA formation, Glococorticoid-Responsive Element which is located in X ORF and P ORF overlapping, Polyadenylation Signal (Direct Repeat 1 (DR1) and Direct Repeat 2 (DR2)), Epsilon-Stem Loop and Post-Transcriptional Regulatory Element. HBV genotype D is prevalent in our Middle East area. The HBV genome is a partially relaxed-circular dsDNA molecule consisting of a full length strand (minus strand) with a single unique nick and a complementary (positive strand) of variable length. HBV is considered as a para-retrovirus because its replication involves the reverse transcription of an intermediate-RNA function, of pre-genomic RNA (pgRNA). Replication of HBV genome starts with the encapsidation of the pgRNA and encodes HBV polymerase into an immature nucleocapsid formed by the viral core antigen.

Polyamines are aliphatic amines found in all living cells, and they are necessary for several fundamental cell processes. Their protective role against various abiotic stress factors has been reported in different plant species, while the mechanism by which polyamines act during plant-microbe interaction is still poorly understood. The several types of the interactions between the plants and the microbes outline a divers and complex picture of the action mechanisms. The present review focuses on this aspect of the mode of action of polyamines and polyamine metabolism during biotroph and necrotroph interactions between plants and pathogens. It seems that apoplastic metabolism of polyamines of the host and the accumulation of H2O2 as a result of polyamine catabolism play important signalling role in plant-pathogen interactions. The manipulation of the members of the polyamine-induced signalling pathways could increase the host plant resistance to biotic stresses.

Stroke is a clinically defined syndrome of acute focal neurological deficit attributed to vascular injury (infarction, hemorrhage) of the central nervous system. Stroke is the second leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Stroke is not a single disease but can be caused by a wide range of risk factors, disease processes and mechanisms. Approximately 15% of strokes worldwide are the result of intracerebral hemorrhage, which can be deep (basal ganglia, brainstem), cerebellar or lobar. A minority (about 20%) of intracerebral hemorrhages are caused by macrovascular lesions (vascular malformations, aneurysms, cavernomas), venous sinus thrombosis or rarer causes.