Thalassemia patients have regional systolic dysfunction in the lateral LV wall and regional diastolic dysfunction in the septal and RV wall. TVI and the newer modality SI are promising tools for quantitative assessment of regional myocardial function. SI seems more capable of early detection of regional myocardial dysfunction.

The organic effects of varicocele on testicular histology were studied in bilateral testicular biopsies obtained from 30 infertile men during varicocele repair and 3 to 6 months post-operatively, using light microscopy. Before surgery and at follow-up, semen analyses were performed. The results showed a substantial improvement in semen quality in 22 cases post-operatively. Pre-operative biopsies showed depressed spermatogenesis with a predominant picture of maturation arrest, sloughing of spermatogenic epithelium, an increase in Leydig cells, thickening of tubular basement membranes and interstitial blood vessel walls with narrowing of their lumina, and increased deposition of interstitial fibrous tissue. Post-operatively, spermatogenesis improved in 22 cases, with increased mean tubular scores together with diminution in epithelial cell sloughing. The increased prominence of Leydig cells reverted to normal in 18 cases. The changes in tubular basement membranes, interstitium and interstitial blood vessels were unaffected.

Cardiac dysfunction is a major cause of death in patients with beta thalassemia. Right ventricular (RV) contribution to cardiac morbidity and mortality in these patients has been suggested. We aimed to assess RV function in beta thalassemia (beta-Th) patients and to detect the relation of serum ferritin level to RV dysfunction. Thirty young patients with beta-Th and 15 age-matched normal subjects (NL) were included. We measured RV end diastolic and end systolic diameters (RVEDD and RVESD), RV % fractional shortening (RVFS), RV pressure (RVP), lateral and septal tricuspid annular systolic and diastolic tissue Doppler velocities (Sa, Ea, Aa & Ea/Aa), and RV myocardial systolic and diastolic velocities at the basal RV segment (RVSm, RVEm, RVAm & RVEm/Am). Serum ferritin level was measured in beta-Th patients who were divided accordingly into two groups; G1 with serum ferritin > or =2,000 microg/L and G2 with serum ferritin < 2,000 microg/L. Compared to NL subjects, beta-Th patients had significantly higher RVEDD, RVESD & RVP, lower RVFS, higher Aa, and lower Ea/Aa at lateral and septal tricuspid annular sites, higher RVAm and lower RVEm/Am. Patients with higher serum ferritin level (G1) had higher RVP, higher RVEDD and RVESD, lower Sa at the lateral annular site and lower RVSm than patients in G2. High serum ferritin level was significantly associated with pulmonary hypertension. We concluded that patients with beta-Th have RV diastolic dysfunction, pulmonary hypertension is common, and the presence of RV systolic dysfunction in these patients is related to the higher level of serum ferritin.

Microbiome projects are currently booming around the globe, enabled by advances in culture-independent microbial community analysis and high-throughput sequencing. One emerging application of microbiome science involves exploring microbial diversity in built environments, and one unexplored built environment is the pharmaceutical factory, notably factories producing antibiotics, as they could be enriched in antibiotic-resistant microbes. To examine the drug factory microbiome, we launched this interdisciplinary hypothesis-generating study to benchmark culture-independent microbiome analysis in drug manufacturing units producing antibiotics and nonantibiotic drugs, against traditional microbial identification and quantification techniques. Over a course of 4 months, we prospectively collected 234 samples from antibiotic (kanamycin and amoxicillin) and nonantibiotic (acetaminophen) production clean rooms within a pharmaceutical factory in Egypt. All samples were analyzed by traditional culture-based methods, and microbial communities of representative samples were profiled by16S rRNA gene sequencing. In addition, antibiotic resistance profiles of some samples were determined, and representative resistance genes were screened. The 16S rRNA analysis revealed a typical predominance of Proteobacteria (36%), Firmicutes (31%), and Bacteroidetes (16%). The microbial composition of the samples was highly affected by the use of water, environmental conditions during the production process, the presence of personnel, and the type of the product. The effect of these factors was confirmed by total aerobic microbial counts and identification of biomarker microbes. In conclusion, these observations can aid in the future for optimal design and management of pharmaceutical manufacturing units, and speak to a greater need for implementing microbiome research in the quality assurance of built environments.

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