<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The impact of direct antiviral agents (DAAs) on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is controversial. One important aspect of this controversy is the changing pattern of HCC. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> In this study, we attempted to assess the changes in the pattern of HCC after treatment with DAAs. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A total of 51 HCC patients after DAA treatment and 54 HCC patients without DAA treatment were included. The diagnosis of HCC was based on typical dynamic CT and/or MRI criteria in both groups. Liver status was assessed by means of the fibrosis 4 index (Fib-4), Child-Pugh classification, and model for end-stage liver disease (MELD). HCC infiltrative pattern, portal vein thrombosis (PVT), local and distant metastases, and α-fetoprotein (AFP) level were compared in the 2 groups. The staging of HCC and treatment decisions were made in both groups following the Milan criteria, Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer staging, tumor-node-metastasis staging, and Cancer of the Liver Italian Program categorization. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The mean age of the HCC patients after DAA treatment (59.1± 7.4 years) was older than that of the HCC patients without DAA treatment. There was no significant difference between groups regarding sex distribution. The mean Fib-4 score (4.84 ± 3.53) was significantly lower in HCC patients after DAA treatment than in those without DAA treatment. The frequency of the infiltrative HCC pattern, PVT, and regional lymph node metastasis was significantly higher in HCC patients after DAA treatment than in those without DAA treatment (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05); mean AFP level (5,085.2 ± 11,883.2 ng/mL) was also significantly higher. HCC patients after DAA treatment had significantly advanced stages and limited treatment options (<i>p</i> ≤ 0.05). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The changing HCC pattern after DAA treatment may suggest the need for new HCC staging and treatment protocols.

No abstract

Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate the clinical effect of propolis gel associated with non surgical therapy in the management of chronic periodontitis. Subjects and Methods: Thirty chronic periodontitis patients were selected in this study with probing depth not less than 5 mm in each site. Patients randomly divided into three groups ten subjects on each. Patients in Group1 were treated with scaling and root planning and local delivery of propolis gel with chitosan polymer. Patients in group 2 were treated with non surgical therapy and propolis gel with polyox polymer. Patients in group 3 were treated with non surgical therapy alone. The clinical parameters were assessed at baseline, 1 month and 3 months. Results: Clinical parameters showed a favorable improvement in group received propolis gel with polyox polymer than the group received propolis gel containing chitosan polymer. Conclusion: Adjunctive use of propolis with polyox polymer to non surgical therapy showed favorable results over use of propolis with chitosan polymer in patients with chronic periodontitis.

In this paper, we present a method for real-time projector resolution enhancement. Two low-resolution subimages are sampled from each high-resolution input image, and then pre-distorted using a spatial enhancement kernel. When the sub-images are projected with an offset, it produces an apparent high-resolution reproduction of the original image.

Background and Objectives: Health Care Workers (HCWs) are at a high risk of needle stick injuries and HBV infection in Egypt; this problem is further aggravated by low Hepatitis B (HB) vaccination coverage. Limited data are available on the prevalence of HBV infection in Egyptian HCWs. In this study, we aimed to assess the HBV infection rate and genotypes among Egyptian HCWs. Methods: Five hundred and sixty-four (564) HCWs were included. Of them, 258 (45.74%) were health care providers and 306 (54.25%) were non-health care providers. All HCWs completed both the study questionnaires and provided a blood sample for HBV testing. Indeed, all HCWs were tested for Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody to Hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc), by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. HBVDNA was checked for HCWs who tested positive for HBsAg and/or anti-HBc, by nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). HBVDNA positive HCWs were further subjected to HBV genotyping. Results: The mean age of included HCWs was 33.0 ± 9.8 years, of whom 319 (56.56%) were males. The mean duration of health care work was 9.3 ± 6.7 years. The frequency of HBsAg and anti-HBc were 1.4%, and 24.5%, respectively. Old age and prolonged duration of health care work were significantly associated with anti-HBc seropositivity. Among 140 HCWs positive for HBsAg and/or anti-HBc, 14 (10 %) had positive HBVDNA by PCR. HBV/E (n = 7), HBV/D (n = 3) and co-infection with E and D (n = 4) genotypes were detected. Conclusion: Egyptian HCWs have a significantly high rate of HBV exposure. The detection of HBV/E genotype among Egyptian HCWs suggests prevalent transmission of HBV/E among Egyptian populations.