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Prostaglandins throughout biofluids during pregnancy and also labour: A planned out assessment.
Pneumonia among under-five children constitutes a major public health concern. Studies examining risk factors for pneumonia in Egypt are limited.

To identify risk factors of pneumonia among under-five children in Alexandria, Egypt.

An observational case-control study was conducted over a 5-month period (September 2017-January 2018) in three main pediatric hospitals in Alexandria. A predesigned questionnaire was used to interview 660 mothers of under-five children (330 pneumonia cases and 330 control). The questionnaire included potential risk factors for pneumonia which were categorized into child-related factors, socio-demographic factors, and environmental factors.

The mean age of the children was 23.14 ± 18.61 months with a range of 1-59 months. Nearly two-thirds (58.5%) were boys. Nine factors were found to be independently associated with pneumonia age ≤ 12 months (OR = 1.925; 95% CI, 1.356-2.733; P < 0.001), male gender (OR = 1.646; 95% CI, 1.162-2.332; P = 0.005), birth order ≥ 4 (OR = 2.154; 95% CI, 1.282-3.617; P = 0.004), low birth weight (OR = 2.562; 95% CI, 1.718-3.821; P < 0.001), prematurity (OR = 2.019; 95% CI, 1.154-3.531; P = 0.014), place of delivery either at home (OR = 5.669; 95% CI, 1.063-30.237; P = 0.042) or at a public hospital (OR = 1.616; 95% CI, 1.131-2.310; P = 0.008), presence of concomitant illness (OR = 1.902; 95% CI, 1.043-3.469; P = 0.036), poor home aeration (OR = 3.586; 95% CI, 1.971-6.522; P < 0.001), and exposure to outdoor air pollution (OR = 2.403; 95% CI, 1.417-4.076; P = 0.001).

Several risk factors were significantly related to pneumonia among under-five children. Identifying such factors is important for developing interventions to reduce pneumonia burden among under-five in Egypt.
Several risk factors were significantly related to pneumonia among under-five children. Identifying such factors is important for developing interventions to reduce pneumonia burden among under-five in Egypt.Occupational exposure to heavy metals like lead and cadmium causes a wide range of biological effects and may elevate the risk of genetic damage. Heavy metal toxicity is now becoming a significant public health problem. There are many discrepancies in the results of the studies on the genotoxicity of heavy metals. Therefore, the study aimed to estimate lead, cadmium, and 8-OHdG levels (8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine) and expression of DNA repair gene OGG1 (8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1) in occupationally heavy metal exposed workers. The study comprised 100 workers, occupationally exposed to lead and cadmium from different factories and 100 controls without history of metal exposure. The lead and cadmium mean ± SD were 5.69 ± 12.07 µg/dL and 3.44 ± 1.33 µg/L in the cases and 1.27 ± 1.10 µg/dL and 1.07 ± 0.67 µg/L in the controls. The 8-OHdG concentration was significantly higher in the cases than the controls. Cadmium showed a significant positive correlation with 8-OHdG in the cases. The expression of OGG1 was significantly down-regulated in the cases compared to the controls. Lead levels did not show any significant correlation with OGG1, whereas cadmium level had a significant positive correlation with OGG1 in the cases. To conclude, the exposure to heavy metals is associated with increased oxidative DNA damage and impaired expression of the DNA repair gene, OGG1.Particular interest in selenium (Se) was generated as a result of clinical studies showing that balanced Se dietary system is very important for many physiological processes. There is no recent information available on the Se content in Egyptian foods. The present study was conducted to measure Se content in different food groups. A cross-sectional study was designed; a total of 87 food items were randomly purchased from the main markets and hypermarkets in Alexandria governorate, then digested by wet ashing procedure and finally analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The highest mean Se value was obtained in protein-rich food followed by nuts and sweetened products (6.8, 6.2, and 5.89 μg/g respectively) shrimps had the highest value among all studied samples (6.8 μg/g), while the lowest one was in soft cheese (0.0036 μg/g). Selenium content in food groups is strongly correlated with food matrix and composition of food items, soil composition, and fortification process.
Although it is well known that obesity increases the risk of atherosclerosis in carotid arteries, it is not clear whether this risk changes after obesity surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate whether weight reduction with a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) has any effect on distensibility and elasticity which show subclinical atherosclerosis in the carotid arteries of obese individuals.

This prospective study included 130 patients (body mass index (BMI) 48.21 ± 6.97kg/m
) who underwent LSG. The patients were followed up for 1year. Comparisons were made of the distensibiliy and elasticity values calculated preoperatively and at 1, 3, 6, and 12months, postoperatively.

There was a statistically significant increase in distensibility and elasticity values from baseline to 1, 3, 6, and 12months postoperatively (p< 0.001 for both comparisons). The multiple linear regression analysis was used to find the variables affecting both distensibility and elasticity. SR10221 ic50 According to the results, the presence of BMI decreases distensibility percentage change level by 0.38units (β= - 0.38, 95% CI - 0.51;- 0.25, p < 0.001). The presence of fasting plasma glucose decreases elasticity percentage change level by 0.20units. (β= - 0.20, 95% CI - 0.39; - 0.01, p = 0.037).

Carotid artery distensibility and elasticity values increase after LSG, and this change could be caused by the change in metabolic parameters and heart geometry. These results may indirectly suggest that subclinical atherosclerosis in carotid arteries has decreased after obesity surgery.
Carotid artery distensibility and elasticity values increase after LSG, and this change could be caused by the change in metabolic parameters and heart geometry. These results may indirectly suggest that subclinical atherosclerosis in carotid arteries has decreased after obesity surgery.
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