Background: The wide unregulated use of malathion has produced severe health hazards. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a known glutathione precursor, and there is a growing attention concerning its beneficial effects against pesticideinduced toxicity. The present study was designed to investigate the therapeutic effects of NAC against malathioninduced hepatotoxicity, oxidative stress, genotoxicity, immunotoxicity, inflammation, and acetylcholinestrase alteration in rats. Methods: Four groups comprised of 25 male rats each. Group 1 received distilled water, group 2 received NAC 150 mg/kg/day, group 3 received malathion 50 mg/kg/day, and group 4 received malathion 50 mg/kg/ day followed by NAC 150 mg/kg/day for 90 consecutive days. Aspartate transaminase; alanine transaminase; alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase; lipid peroxidation; reduced glutathione and total antioxidant capacity; DNA fragmentation; apoptosis and antiapoptosis-related gene expression; leukocyte counts; myeloperoxidase and immunophenotyping of CD4+ and CD8+; interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and interferon-γ expression; and acetylcholinestrase were assessed. Results: Malathion administration resulted in significant hepatic injury, immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, oxidative stress injury, inflammation, and significant reduction in acetylcholinestrase activity. Furthermore, malathion showed damaging histopathological effects on liver tissue. NAC treatment significantly attenuated all the previously mentioned biochemical, molecular, and histopathological alterations induced by malathion. Conclusion: NAC had therapeutic effects against the detrimental hazards of malathion. Administering NAC to vulnerable risk groups is recommended.

Background: Analyzing recovered evidence, such as blood which is one of the most encountered types of biological evidence, can provide information to establish the definite time when a crime was committed. This study aims to investigate the timeand temperature-related effects on human bloodstain’s α-globin messenger RNA expression and to estimate the bloodstain’s age using α-globin mRNA. Methods: A total of 22 blood samples were collected from healthy middle-aged volunteers (12 women and 10 men). After preparation, the samples were exposed to temperatures of 4°C, 24°C, and 40°C. Next, the mRNA expression of the α-globin gene was quantified by real-time RT-PCR at different time intervals of 0, 30, 90, and 150 days. Results: The α-globin gene expression showed the highest mean values by 0 day and at 4°C and the lowest mean values by 150 days and at 40°C. Samples from male participants showed higher mean values of α-globin gene expression compared to their female counterparts. A significant negative correlation was detected between α-globin gene expression and time interval. Meanwhile, a regression equation was formulated to estimate the time interval using the α-globin gene concentration. Conclusion: α-Globin mRNA could be a useful marker to estimate the age of human blood spots.

Background: Drug abuse is considered a global and growing problem worldwide. Emergency medical care is required for acute intoxication, which adds to the threat of COVID-19. This study aims to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the pattern of acute toxicity in drug abuse patients admitted to National Environmental and Clinical Toxicology and Research Center (NECTR), Cairo University. Methods: This comparative study included 978 cases admitted to NECTR during 12 months before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2019) and 12 months during the pandemic (2020-2021). Results: The number of cases during the pandemic was lower than before; adults and men predominate in both periods. During the pandemic, cannabis, heroin, opium, and alcohol showed a mild increase, while the new synthetic drugs, tramadol, and pregabalin, showed a mild decrease. A significant increase in discharges and a decrease in intensive care unit (ICU) admissions were observed during the pandemic. Besides, more oxygen (O2) therapy was required, and more cases died on mechanical ventilation. The worst outcome was associated with old age, male gender, heroin and opium toxicity, and the highest score of poisoning severity. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic had a definite reforming effect on the pattern of intoxication by drugs of abuse in NECTR, Egypt.

Background: Recently, there has been a remarkable increase in manhandling to physicians and vandalism in hospitals by patients and their relatives; moreover. There is a continuous increase in medical malpractice allegations. This high sense of insecurity among physicians caused them to practice defensive medicine, which could be positive or negative. Defensive medicine practicing has harmful effects on both the patients and the resources. Aim: This work was done to assess the prevalence of defensive medicine practicing among Kasr Alainy hospital residents. Methods: A questionnaire that includes ten "yes or no" questions was circulated manually among the residents, where the number of "yes" answers in the questionnaire is considered directly proportional to the sense of insecurity among the responders and more than 4 'yes' answers were considered sense of insecurity. Results: 88.9% of responders had more than four yes answers in the questionnaire, and the median number of yes answers was 7. There was a significant difference regarding the specialty where surgical specialties had a higher score than non-surgical specialties. Conclusion: Behaviors indicating defensive medicine practice and sense of insecurity showed high prevalence among the studied sample of Egyptian residents.

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