The present study was designed to investigate the response of Ocimum basilicum L. plants to four rates of NPK (0, 50, 75 and 100% of recommended) and four treatments of active dry yeast (ADY) as biofertilizer (0, 2, 4, and 6 g l -1 ) and their combinations. The recommended dose of NPK (100%) was 11.11, 7.41 and 3.70 g plant -1 of ammonium sulphate (20.5% N), calcium super phosphate (15.5 P 2 O 5 ) and potassium sulphate (48.5% K 2 O), respectively.The experiment was carried out during the growing seasons of 2012 and 2013 at Agric. Research Station, Alex. Univ., Egypt. The result showed that 100% of NPK combined with ADY at 4 and/ or 6 g l -1 gave the highest value of vegetative growth characters (plant height, number of branches, number of leaves, leaf area and leaves dry weight) in the two cuts of the two seasons as well as the greatest content of total chlorophyll, oil percentage and linalool, eucalyptol percentage in the oil of basil leaves. The highest significant increase in the Estragol and trans-4-methoxycinamaldehyde percentage in the oil of basil leaves were obtained by using 50 or 75% dose of NPK in combination with 4g l -1 of ADY.

Background Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the major causes of ESKD, and its complications are characterized by proteinuria, decreased glomerular filtration, and renal fibrosis resulting in the deterioration of renal functions, so early detection of nephropathy is essential to slow down and prevent the progression of the disease. Fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) is expressed in renal proximal tubule cells and released in response to hypoxia caused by decreased peritubular capillary blood flow, so serum FABP 4 is one of the promising biomarkers for early prediction of diabetic nephropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods This was a case–control study that included 120 patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus selected from Kasr Alainy Hospital, Cairo University Hospital, who were divided into 2 groups: the first group comprised 60 diabetic patients divided into 3 sub-groups according to their urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (normo-, micro-, and macroalbuminuria). The second group included 60 apparently healthy individuals. All patients were subjected to history, clinical examination, laboratory investigations, and serum FABP4 by ELISA. Results There was a significant increase in serum FABP4 in the macroalbuminuria group, followed by the microalbuminuria group, then the normoalbuminuria group, in comparison to the normal control group. There was a significant positive correlation between serum FABP 4 level and the duration of diabetes and HBA1c. There was a significantly negative correlation between serum FABP4 and serum albumin in the macroalbuminuria group. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis found that serum FABP 4 discriminate micro- and macroalbuminuric patients with diabetes from controls with 96.6% and 98.3% diagnostic specificity and 100% diagnostic sensitivity respectively. Conclusion Serum FABP 4 can be used as a biomarker for the early detection of diabetic nephropathy.