Despite the widespread application of zinc oxide nanoparticles in biomedicine, their use is still a controversial issue. Zinc oxide nanoparticles were reported to have therapeutic benefits. However, they were reported to have toxicological hazards as well. Several studies reported the antibacterial, anticancer, antioxidant, and immunomodulatory effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Additionally, zinc oxide nanoparticles were used in sunscreens. Furthermore, the ability to use zinc oxide nanoparticles as an adjuvant treatment to alleviate the toxic effects of chemotherapeutic drugs has been reported. However, zinc oxide nanoparticles were shown to induce toxic effects in different body organs and systems. The affected organs included liver, spleen, kidney, stomach, pancreas, heart and lung. In addition, zinc oxide nanoparticles were reported to adversely affect the neurological system, lymphatic system, hematological indices, sex hormones levels, and fetal development. The toxic effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles were based on their concentration, their dose, the route of their administration, and the time of exposure to those particles. Thus, it is crucial to assess their efficacy and safety to determine their toxicological risks and therapeutic benefits.

No abstract

Reaching a postmortem diagnosis of hypothermia is challenging in forensic practice. Therefore, this study was conducted to detect the histopathological, histochemical and biochemical changes that occur in adult albino rats following exposure to induced fatal hypothermia. Twenty-four adult albino rats were divided into the negative control, moderate hypothermia, severe hypothermia and hypoxia groups. Rats in the control group were euthanized when those in the moderate hypothermic group died. Blood samples were collected via heart puncture, and the cerebrum, heart, suprarenal gland, kidney, liver and skeletal muscle were removed to investigate the biochemical, histochemical and histopathological changes. Postmortem assessment depicted significant changes in lipid peroxidation, represented by increased malondialdehyde levels in the studied organs of the rats in hypothermic and hypoxia groups. Histopathological examination of the rats' organs revealed degeneration and necrosis in the hypothermia and hypoxia groups. Sections taken from the severe hypothermic rats revealed a loss of normal cardiac tissue architecture, necrotic changes in the pyramidal cells in the cerebral cortex, and massive necrosis, mainly in the tubules of the renal cortex and medulla. These findings suggest that histological changes might be used as biochemical markers for postmortem diagnosing of fatal hypothermia, particularly in severe hypothermic conditions. KEY POINTS• Death by hypothermia is a serious public health problem worldwide.• Confirming a diagnosis and determining the cause of death in cases of hypothermia are among the most difficult practices in forensic medicine. • Death by hypothermia might be associated with structural abnormalities in various organs. • Studies using different tissue staining techniques will enable an overall illustration of the role of histopathological changes in body organs as indicators of hypothermia.

Valproic acid (VPA) is widely used worldwide for the treatment of epilepsy, migraine and as a mood stabilizer in some psychiatric diseases. It has been condemned for causing hepatotoxicity. Oxidative stress and some metabolites of VPA have been proposed to be responsible for VPA induced hepatotoxicity. The current study was conducted to assess the damage induced by toxic doses of valproic acid on rats' livers and to assess the protective role of silymarin and ascorbic acid in VPA induced hepatotoxicity. Forty-two male albino rats were divided equally into seven groups; group (1): normal control, group (2): ascorbic acid, group (3): silymarin, group (4): VPA, group (5): VPA+ascorbic acid, group (6): VPA + silymarin and group (7): VPA + ascorbic acid + silymarin. After four weeks, the animals were sacrificed and livers were collected for histopathologic examination and biochemical assessment. VPA group showed a significant increase in serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin and a significant decrease in albumin and total protein. Liver malondialdehyde was significantly increased and antioxidant enzymes levels were significantly decreased. Liver sections showed loss of normal pattern of hepatocytes, inflammatory infiltration, congested central vein and fatty infiltration. Each of ascorbic acid and silymarin partially improved some of the measured parameters. When they were combined together, they depict high improvement in most of measured parameters and showed near normal liver sections. This study concludes that combination of ascorbic acid and silymarin has synergistic antioxidant and hepatoprotective effects against VPA induced toxic effects on liver.

Burn injuries Medico-legal aspects Mortality predictors Burn injuries present a major public health concern. This study aimed to assess burn injuries and their outcome in patients admitted to the Burn Unit of Suez Canal University Hospital, Ismailia, Egypt from the medico-legal point of view and to determine factors that affect their mortality. The medical records of all patients admitted to the Burn Unit, Suez Canal University Hospital in the period between 1 st January 2013 and 31 st December 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. The total number was 292 patient, the mean age of patients was 17.5±17.2 years; children less than 5 years of age were more exposed to burn injuries (35.6%) than other age groups. Males constituted 68.1% of the study group, while 63% came from rural areas. Flame burns and scalds represented 48.2% and 44.9% respectively with a predominance of injuries in colder months. The majority of cases (72.6%) showed a percentage of total body surface area (TBSA) less than 20%. Upper extremities were most commonly affected (58.2%). A significant relationship was found between TBSA and each of: type of burn, duration of the hospital stay, ICU admission and outcome. A significant relation was also found between type of burn and each of: age, gender, and duration of hospital stay. Mortality rate was 5.5% of cases and septicemia was the most common cause of death (43.8%). Using stepwise logistic regression, TBSA and ICU admission were the only detected mortality predictors.

No abstract

Background: Hepatic and renal damage is a cisplatin (Cis)-induced deleterious effect that is a major limiting factor in clinical chemotherapy. Objectives: The current study was designed to investigate the influence of pretreatment with olive leaf extract (OLE), bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC), and their conditioned media (CM-MSC) against genotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, and immunotoxicity induced by cisplatin in rats. Methods: The rats were randomly divided into six groups (six rats each) as follows: Control; OLE group, treated with OLE; Cis group, treated with a single intraperitoneal dose of Cis (7 mg/kg bw); Cis + OLE group, treated with OLE and cisplatin; Cis + CM-MSC group, treated with BM-MSC conditioned media and Cis; and Cis + MSC group, treated with BM-MSC in addition to Cis. Results: Cis resulted in a significant deterioration in hepatic and renal functions and histological structures. Furthermore, it increased inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and decreased glutathione (GSH) content, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in hepatic and renal tissues. Furthermore, apoptosis was evident in rat tissues. A significant increase in serum 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), nitric oxide (NO) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and a decrease in lysozyme activity were detected in Cis-treated rats. OLE, CM-MSC, and BM-MSC have significantly ameliorated Cis-induced deterioration in hepatic and renal structure and function and improved oxidative stress and inflammatory markers, with preference to BM-MSC. Moreover, apoptosis was significantly inhibited, evident from the decreased expression of Bax and caspase-3 genes and upregulation of Bcl-2 proteins in protective groups as compared to Cis group. Conclusions: These findings indicate that BM-MSC, CM-MSC, and OLE have beneficial effects in ameliorating cisplatin-induced oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in the hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and genotoxicity in a rat model.

Background: Personal identification is one of the most important challenges that may face forensic scientists, especially in cases of incomplete, mutilated or even fragmented remains. Stature is one of the primary identification parameters. Previous studies were performed to estimate stature from hand and its corresponding print dimensions using different regression models. These studies highlight the importance of the presence of population-specific standards. The current study aims to develop predictive regression equations that could be used for stature estimation using anthropometric hands and their corresponding print dimensions. One hundred and fifty adult participants were enrolled in the study (75 male & 75 female). Statures were measured, and seven dimensions of each hand and its corresponding print were also measured for each participant . Results: All measurements of the male group were significantly higher. Bilateral significant differences were found in some hands and their corresponding print dimensions in both sexes. According to Karl Pearson's correlation coefficient, all measurements were significantly correlated to stature; "right-hand length" showed the strongest correlation with stature in both sexes, while "right handprint length" in females and "left handprint length" in males showed the strongest correlation with stature. Simple linear regression analysis showed that both hand and handprint lengths in both sides for both sexes had the lowest standard error of estimate, ensuring their lowest prediction error in stature estimation. Conclusion: hand and its corresponding print dimensions can be used in adult stature estimation. Further studies of people of other geographical regions in Egypt are recommended to get a biological-specific Egyptian standard.