Aim of the study Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of mortality among patients with liver cirrhosis. According to the current practice guidelines, different ablations are used either as curative or palliative therapies. The current study aimed at determining bacterial infections as causes of fever and the predictive role of procalcitonin (PCT) among patients with HCC who had ablation therapy. Material and methods This cross sectional study was carried out on 100 patients with HCC during the period from November 2019 to December 2021. All patients were evaluated by full history taking, clinical examination, complete blood picture (CBC), liver biochemistry, coagulation profile, kidney function, C-reactive protein (CRP), serum PCT and blood cultures. All were done for all participants at the 4 th day follow-up after the procedures of ablation. HCC was treated according to the guidelines. Results The frequency of fever after HCC ablation was 64% with variable intensities. Bacterial cultures were positive in 20 patients (20%). Twenty-four out of 100 patients had abnormally high PCT level. There was a highly statistically significant increase of PCT level in patients with a high CRP count and positive blood culture, p < 0.05. There was a statistically significant correlation between increased levels of PCT and levels of CRP, WBCs, albumin, AST, ALT, degree of fever, creatinine and BUN. Conclusions Bacterial infection accounts for 20% of fever among HCC patients after ablation therapy. PCT is 100% sensitive and specific for detection of the bacterial causes of fever among those patients.

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The experimental trial was consummated in the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory at El-Zohria Botanical Garden, Horticulture Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Ministry of Agriculture from 2010 to 2012. The aim of this study was to reach a well defined protocol for in vitro propagation of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis plant. Shoot tips and auxiliary buds of G. jasminoides were surface sterilized with 30% Clorox (®sodium hypochlorite as commercial bleach) for 25 min which gave the best results (100 % survival, 0.0 % contamination and (0.0 %) mortality of shoot tips and auxiliary buds. Explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with 4.0 mg/l NAA for effective establishment . In the multiplication stage, 5.0 mg/l BA was favoured for the number of shoots. For in vitro rooting, 5.0 mg/l IBA was more suitable to form roots on G.jasminoides. After one month in a rooting medium, gardenia plants were transplanted into pots containing peatmoss and covered by polyethylene sheets. After one month, the sheets were removed and left for two weeks under plastic house conditions where 100 % of the plants survived.

This work aimed to evaluate one hundred and fifty-five commercial wheat fields including six varieties of yellow rust (stripe rust) epidemics caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici, in Gharbia governorate during the 2019 to 2021 seasons. Also, study the weather variables associated with yellow rust outbreaks in wheat. Temperature, relative humidity, and rain variables were obtained from the regional climate model imeto2 (http//meto.at/farmview/) as well as the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment's (GEWEX) Surface Radiation Budget (NASA/GEWEX SRB) during the infection period from January to March. Results revealed that the high disease epidemic linked to rain precipitation and number of precipitation days combined with the minimum temperatures (5−10°C) and relative humidity (RH) of at least 60%. Levels of yellow rust severity varied according to the studied year, and wheat variety. Gemmeiza-11, Sids-12, Misr-1, and Misr-2 were the most susceptible varieties, while both Gemmeiza12 and Sakha95 were resistant to yellow rust disease during the studied period. In the 2021 season, all the wheat varieties showed a resistance response. The loss % ranged between 36.00, 40.00 %(Gemmeiza-11); 36.00, 37.25% (Sids-12); 25.00, 33.33% (Misr-1) and 21.21, 24.84% (Misr-2) in 2019 and 2020 growing seasons, respectively compared to the grain yield in 2021 season. Low disease severities were detected ranging from zero to trace infection (2.00%) in the 2021 season. A high and positive correlation coefficient (R 2 ) was found between disease severity % and loss in grain yield of the tested wheat varieties.