• Mycobiology
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.61-67
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• 2003

The mycobiota of the sandy soil of Egyptian beaches was investigated in thirty six sand samples collected from nine different localities in Egypt. The filamentous fungi were identified and assigned to thirty one genera and fifty one species. Greater populations as well as a wider spectrum range of fungal genera and species were obtained in sandy soil of Alexandria beach while Balteem beach was the poorest one. The total count of the genus or species was not depended upon cases of isolation. Most of the genera detected belonged to the Deuteromycotina with fewer proportions belonging to the Ascomycotina and Zygomycotina. The genera of highest incidence and their respective numbers of species were: Penicillium(35.72%, 6 species) and Aspergillus(30.28%, 16 species). The species which showed the highest incidence in all cases was P chrysogenum, followed by P citrinum, A. flavus, Chaetomium murorum and Trichoderma viride. A few number of other genera and species were also detected.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.2083-2087
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• 2014

Colorectal cancers remain to be a common cause of cancer-related death. Early-onset cases as well as those of various ethnic origins have aggressive clinical features, the basis of which requires further exploration. The aim of this work was to examine the expression patterns of $p15^{INK4b}$ and SMAD4 in colorectal carcinoma of different ethnic origins. Fifty-five sporadic colorectal carcinoma of Egyptian origin, 25 of which were early onset, and 54 cancers of Finnish origin were immunohistochemically stained with antibodies against $p15^{INK4b}$ and SMAD4 proteins. Data were compared to the methylation status of the $p15^{INK4b}$ gene promotor. $p15^{INK4b}$ was totally lost or deficient (lost in ${\geq}50%$ of tumor cell) in 47/55 (85%) tumors of Egyptian origin as compared to 6/50 (12%) tumors of Finnish origin (p=7e-15). In the Egyptian cases with $p15^{INK4b}$ loss and available $p15^{INK4b}$ promotor methylation status, 89% of cases which lost $p15^{INK4b}$ expression were associated with $p15^{INK4b}$ gene promotor hypermethylation. SMAD4 was lost or deficient in 25/54 (46%) tumors of Egyptian origin and 28/48 (58%) tumors of Finnish origin. 22/54 (41%) Egyptian tumors showed combined loss/deficiency of both $p15^{INK4b}$ and SMAD4, while $p15^{INK4b}$ was selectively lost/deficient with positive SMAD4 expression in 24/54 (44%) tumors. Loss of $p15^{INK4b}$ was associated with older age at presentation (>50 years) in the Egyptian tumors (p=0.04). These data show for the first time that $p15^{INK4b}$ loss of expression marks a subset of colorectal cancers and ethnic origin may play a role in this selection. In a substantial number of cases, the loss was independent of SMAD4 but rather associated with $p15^{INK4b}$ gene promotor hypermethylation and old age which could be related to different environmental exposures.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.674-680
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• 2020

We used MCNP6 computer code to model HTR-10 core reactor. We used two types of fuel; UO₂ and (Th+Pu)O₂ mixture. We determined the critical height at which the reactor approached criticality in both two cases. The neutronic and burnup parameters were investigated. The results indicated that the core fueled with mixed (Th+Pu)O₂, achieved about 24% higher fuel cycle length than the UO₂ case. It also enhanced safeguard security by burning Pu isotopes. The results were compared with previously published papers and good agreements were found.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.623-642
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• 2015

Several international codes have been developed for evaluating wind loads on structures; however, the wind structure interaction could not be accurately captured by these codes due to the gusty nature of wind and the dynamic behavior of structures. Therefore, the alternative wind tunnel testing was introduced. In this study, an introduction to the available approaches for wind load calculations for tall buildings was presented. Then, a comparative study between different codes: the Egyptian code, ECP 201-08, ASCE 7-05, BS 6399-2, and wind tunnel test results was conducted. An investigation has been carried out on two case studies tall buildings located within the Arabian Gulf region. Numerical models using (ETABS) software were produced to obtain the relation between codes analytical values and wind tunnel experimental test results for wind loads in the along and across wind directions. Results for the main structural responses including stories forces, shears, overturning moments, lateral displacements, and drifts were presented graphically in order to give clear comparison between the studied methods. The conclusions and recommendations for future works obtained from this research are finally presented to help improving Egyptian code provisions and show limitations for different cases.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.5433-5438
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• 2012

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and aggressive malignancy. Despite of the improvements in its treatment, HCC prognosis remains poor due to its recurrence after resection. This study provides complete genetic profile for Egyptian HCC. Genome-wide analyses were performed to identify the predictive signatures. Patients and Methods: Liver tissue was collected from 31 patients with diagnosis of HCC and gene expression levels in the tumours and their adjacent non-neoplastic tissues samples were studied by analyzing changes by microarray then correlate these with the clinico-pathological parameters. Genes were validated in an independent set by qPCR. The genomic profile was associated with genetic disorders and cancer focused on gene expression, cell cycle and cell death. Molecular profile analysis revealed cell cycle progression and arrest at G2/M, but progression to mitosis; unregulated DNA damage check-points, and apoptosis. Result: Nine hundred fifty eight transcripts out of the 25,000 studied cDNAs were differentially expressed; 503 were up-regulated and 455 were down-regulated. A total of 19 pathways were up-regulated through 27 genes and 13 pathways were down-regulated through 19 genes. Thirty-seven genes showed significant differences in their expression between HCC cases with high and low Alpha Feto Protein ($AFP{\geq}600$ IU/ml). The validation for the microarray was done by real time PCR assay in which PPP3CA, ATG-5, BACE genes showed down-regulation and ABCG2, RXRA, ELOVL2, CXR3 genes showed up-regulation. cDNA microarrays showed that among the major upregulated genes in HCC are sets. Conclusion: The identified genes could provide a panel of new diagnostic and prognostic aids for HCC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1971-1976
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• 2015

Background: To evaluate our results in terms of response, survival and toxicity profile of sunitinib among Egyptian patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Between January 2010 and December 2013, 44 patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who received sunitinib at an oncology center of Cairo university hospitals were enrolled in this retrospective analysis. Results: The median age of the patients was 53 years, 22 (50%) having localized disease at presentation, while the remaining half of the patients presented with metastasis. At a median follow up of 19 months, 9 (21%) patients achieved partial remission, while disease was reported stable in 20 cases (45%) and progressive in 7 (16%), 4 (9%) being lost to follow up, and 4 (9%) had discontinued therapy due to toxicity. The median overall survival was 23 months (95%CI 15.2 - 30.9), while progression free survival was 12 months (95%CI 11.6 - 12.3). The most commonly reported non hematological grade 3 adverse events included mucositis (15.9%), hand-foot syndrome (13.6%), and fatigue (9%), while the predominant grade 3 or 4 laboratory abnormalities were neutropenia (6.8%), followed by anemia in 4.5% of patients. Conclusions: Our efficacy data were comparable to the published literature in terms of progression free survival and overall survival, while toxicity profile is different from Asian and western countries. However, sunitinib adverse events were manageable and tolerable in most of our Egyptian patients.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2861-2866
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• 2016

It is thought that population characteristics of breast cancer may be due to a variation in the frequency of different alleles of genes such as CYP1B1. We aimed to determine the association of CYP1B1 polymorphisms in 200 breast cancer cases and 40 controls by PCR-RFLP. Frequencies were assessed with clinical and risk factors in Egyptian patients. The genotype LV and the Leu allele frequencies for patients and controls were 42.9% and 50%, and 52.9% and 53.3%, respectively), with no significant differences observed (P values = 0.8 and 0.6, respectively). There was also no significant association between genotypes and any risk factors for cases (P>0.05) except laterality and metastasis of the tumor (P values=0.006 and 0.06, respectively). The CYP1B1 polymorphism Val432Leu was not associated with breast cancer in Egypt, but may provide clues for future studies into early detection of the disease.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.87 no.4
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• pp.347-361
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• 2023

This research aims to assess the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) residential buildings when moment-resisting frames (MRFs) are used as the lateral resisting system. This investigation was conducted using MIDAS Gen v.19.0. Buildings with various plan footprints (Square, Rectangular, Circular, Triangular, and Plus-Shaped), and different heights (15 m, 30 m, 45 m, and 60 m) are investigated. The defined load cases, the equivalent static lateral load pattern, and the response spectrum function were defined as stated by the American Standard (ASCE 7-16), the 1997 Uniform Building Code (UBC97), the Egyptian Code for Loads (ECP-201), and the European Standard (EC8). Extensive comparisons of the results obtained by the different codes (including the story displacement, the story drift, and the base shear) were undertaken; to assess the response of moment-resisting multi-story framed buildings under lateral loads. The results revealed that, for all study cases under consideration, both ECP-201 and EC8 gave smaller base shear, displacement, and drift by one third to one fourth, around one fourth, around one fifth, respectively for both the ELF and RSA methods if compared to ASCE 7-16 and UBC97.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1705-1712
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• 2016

Background: The aim of this study was to determine and evaluate the association of different viral infections, with hepatitis B and C viruses, Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus and human herpes virus-8 (HBV, HCV, EBV, CMV, HHV-8) with the risk of lymphomas (Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin) among Egyptian patients, and correlate with the histopathological staging and typing as well as the prevalence of combined infections. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 newly diagnosed lymphoma patients with 100 healthy age and sex matched normal controls were assayed for viral infection using enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) followed by real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: Our results showed a high statistical significant difference between cases and controls as regards clinical and laboratory findings (P<0.001 and=0.003). A high statistical difference was seen for the association of most viruses and lymphoma cases (p<0.001) except for positive HBs Ag, positive CMV IgG and HHV-8 (p=0.37, 0.70 and 1.0 respectively). No statistical significant difference was found between Hodgkin (HL) and non-Hodgkin (NHL) as regards viral prevalence except HCV antigen, 57.1% for HL and 26.5% for NHL (p = 0.03). Only, HBV DNA showed a high significant value among infiltrated bone marrow cases (p=0.003) and finally, a high significant association of 2 combined viral infections with infiltrated bone marrow lymphoma cases (p=0.04). Conclusions: Our results showed that infection with HBV, HCV, CMV and EBV were associated with increased risk of lymphoma among the Egyptian population. Detection of new associations between infectious agents and risk of cancer development will facilitate progress in elaboration of prophylactic measures, early diagnostic methods and, hopefully, novel therapy of malignant tumours.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7237-7242
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• 2015

Background: Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the commonest malignancy involving the ovaries. Maximum surgical cytoreduction (MCR) followed by adjuvant taxane-platinum chemotherapy are the standard of care treatments. Aims: To study treatment outcomes of EOC patients that were maximally cyto-reduced and received adjuvant paclitaxel-carboplatin (PC) chemotherapy. Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 174 patients with EOC treated at the Egyptian National Cancer Institute between 2006 and 2010. For inclusion, they should have had undergone MCR with no-gross residual followed by adjuvant PC chemotherapy. MCR was total abdominal hysterectomy/bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy [TAH/BSO] or unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy [USO] plus comprehensive staging. Results: The median age was 50 years. Most patients were married (97.1%), had offspring (92.5%), were postmenopausal (53.4%), presented with abdominal/pelvic pain and swelling (93.7%), had tumors involving both ovaries (45.4%) without extra-ovarian extension i.e. stage I (55.2%) of serous histology (79.9%) and grade II (87.4%). TAH/BSO was performed in 97.7% of cases. A total of 1,014 PC chemotherapy cycles were administered and were generally tolerable with 93.7% completing 6 cycles. Alopecia and numbness were the commonest adverse events. The median follow up period was 42 months. The 2-year rates for disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were 70.7% and 94.8%, respectively. The respective 5-year rates were 52.6% and 81.3%. Advanced stage and high-grade were significantly associated with poor DFS and OS (p<0.001). Age >65 years was associated with poor OS (p =0.008). Using Cox-regression, stage was independent predictor of poor DFS and OS. Age was an independent predictor of poor OS.