An unusual case of gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis mimicking colon cancer; literature and review

Gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis (GIB), a rare fungal infection associated with high mortality, has been reported worldwide mainly from tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, USA, and Latin America. The clinical manifestations are highly diverse and non-specific depending on the underlying disease, but fever, abdominal pain, weight loss, diarrhea, constipation and chills have been observed. There are no prominent risk factors for GIB but climatic conditions and life style are related to this infection in arid and semi-arid regions. Therefore timely diagnosis and early treatment is a challenge. Herein, we present an unusual case of gastrointestinal basidiobolomycosis in a 54-year-old male, initially misdiagnosed as colon cancer. After follow-up, no evidence of relapse and the patient was successfully cured by liposomal amphotericin B. In addition, the differential diagnosis and histopathological findings are discussed with a review of the literature. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

Effect of aqueous extract of Origanum vulgare and Melilotus officinalis onproduction of nitric oxide (NO) in cultured vascular endothelial cells (mouse endothelioma F-2 cell line)

Background and purpose: During recent years, nitric oxide (NO) has been considered as a molecule involved in migraine headaches. This free radical involves in initiation of migraine headaches via NO/cGMP signaling pathway and vascular relaxation specially big intracranial arteries. Therefore, we studied the effects of aqueous extract of Origanum vulgare and Melilotus officinalis prescribed in migraine treatment in traditional & modern medicine, on NO level in cultured endothelial cells.Materials and Methods: Each crude herb (25g) was mixed with 200 ml distilled water. End extract obtained after filtering and drying. Endothelial cells propagated in DMEM medium containing 10% FCS and 1-2% penicillin-streptomycin. The nitrite concentration was measured as an indicator of nitric oxide production according to the Griess reaction and with ELISA in 540 nm.Results: Concentrations of 100, 200 and 400 g/ml of Origanum vulgare, reduced NO levels compared with control to 13.1 % (p<0.05), 25.8% (p<0.01) and 33.9% (p<0.001) respectively. However, despite our expectation melilotus officinalis increased NO level. The concentrations of 100, 200 and 400 g/ml of the herb, increased NO levels to 12.7 (p<0.05), 36.5% (p<0.001) & 72.9% (p<0.001) respectively.Conclusion: We concluded that aqueous extract of Origanum vulgare probably decreases migraine headaches by reducing NO and aqueous extract of Melilotus officinalis does not act through this mechanism

Mechanical Properties of Polypropylene (PP) – Montmorillonite (MMT) Nanocomposites for Pre-Fabricated Vertical Drain (PVD) Application

Polypropylene (PP) – montmorillonite (MMT) blends were prepared by melt-mixing method followed by injection molding method. The optimum process melt-temperature was set at 1950C, the injection speed of 15cc/s, injection pressure of 30MPa and cooling time of 20 sec. was used for the sample preparation. Investigation shows, addition of MMT nanoparticles have improved the mechanical properties. The tensile test and impact test were conducted at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The tensile modulus and yield strength improved with increasing MMT content, however, elongation at break was reduced as the MMT content was increased from 2wt% to 8wt%. The Izod impact strength is also affected by the addition of MMT content. Nanocomposites based on PP containing 8wt% of MMT showed higher impact strength than the other compositions and Neat PP (control). The influence of MMT content on impact strength increased with MMT content which is a significant result required for pre-fabricated vertical drain (PVD). Further investigations are required to study the mechanical properties of the PVD using PP – MMT nanocomposites to replace the existing material (PP).</jats:p

Students' Use of Mobile Technologies

Mobile technologies are all-pervasive in the current digital generation, and college students rely on their mobile phones to communicate on a daily basis. In the midst of the myriad of applications available to download on the mobile, some tools have become more well-known and more often adopted than others. An example of such a tool is WhatsApp, which gains an increasing, widespread number of users on a daily basis, particularly in the Middle East region. The present study investigated college students' use of WhatsApp as a communication tool, and used Lebanon as a case study. A qualitative research design was implemented to understand the perceptions of college students vis-à-vis WhatsApp, and to investigate the motivational factors behind the popularity of this communication tool. The results revealed four themes: simplicity for discussion and coordination, cost-effectiveness, immediacy and sense of belonging. Copyright © 2018, IGI Global

"ALTERED PLASMA ZINC LEVEL CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY OF VALPROIC ACID IN SKELETAL SYSTEM OF RAT"

Valproic acid is one of the main antiepileptic drugs. There is an increased risk of neural tube defects and axial skeletal malformations among infants born to women who had received valproic acid. There is a hypothesis that one biochemical abnormality underlying the teratogenicity of valproic acid is a drug-induced reduction in maternal plasma zinc .In the present experimental study mated rats were divided into four groups of 8 animals each [control, valproic acid (VPA), valproic acid + zinc (VPA+ Zn) and zinc (Zn) groups]. The VPA group received 300 mg/kg valproic acid, daily.The control group received an equal volume of 0.9% NaCl. The VPA+ Zn group received 300 mg/kg VPA and 30 mg/kg zinc sulfate and the Zn group received 30 mg/kg zinc sulfate, daily. Valproic acid, NaCl, and Zn were administered intraperitonealy from day 6 through day 15 of gestation. On day 16, six rats of each group were authanized and the other rats were scarified on gestational day (GD) 20 to evaluate the skeletal system among the elder fetuses. Blood was drawn to determine plasma zinc. The data were analyzed by using analysis of variance (Kruskal -Wallis test). The zinc concentration in the plasma of rats treated with valproic acid was significantly lower than those of the other groups on 16 GD (P=0.004). Some anomalies such as hydrocephaly, spina bifida, hemivertebrate, and rib malformations were seen in VPA treated group. Low percentage of rib anomalies and spina bifida were observed in the VPA+ Zn treated group while no skeletal anomalies were seen in Zn and control groups. The results from the present experiment support the hypothesis that one of the biochemical abnormalities causing the teratogenicity of VPA is a drug–induced maternal plasma zinc deficiency, and possibly, it may also result in reduction of embryonic Zn