Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory disease that has an incre- Materials and methods: Thirty-six adult male albino rats were used in this study. Animals were divided into four groups; Control group (Group A; n = 6), Mel group (Group B; n = 6), L-arg group (Group C; n = 12) receiving two doses of L-arg injection with 1 h interval in-between, and L-arg+Mel group (Group D; n = 12) receiving Mel 1 h after each L-arg injection. 24 h after the second L-arg injection, the serum levels of amylase (AM), lipase (LP), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and (Folia Morphol 2017; 76, 1: 66-73)

Tracing paper was used since the 12 th century. The deterioration of tracing paper occurs as a result of external factors (inappropriate environmental conditions), or internal factors (such as manufacture process). The manufacturing process plays a significant role in the deterioration process, since the preparation of tracing paper includes impregnating with oils or resins, heavy beating of the pulp, and treating the paper with chemicals such as sulfuric acid, and zinc chloride. The consolidation process is vital in the conservation of tracing paper to increase its strength and resistance against improper surrounding environmental conditions. Starch in its traditional form had been used as an adhesive for tracing paper since the last century. This paper aims to evaluate the use of starch in its traditional form and nanoscale form in improving the properties of 4 types of tracing paper. Mechanical properties, change of color, pH value, Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and investigation of the surface morphology by scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used for the evaluation process. Thermal aging at 100 o C was used for the aging of treated and untreated tracing paper. The results revealed that the starch nanoparticles dissolved in water were the best consolidant for impregnated tracing paper. Starch nanoparticles with carboxymethyl cellulose dissolved in water were the best consolidant for the two types of genuine vegetable parchment paper. Starch nanoparticles dissolved in acetone with carboxymethyl cellulose were the best consolidant for modern tracing paper.

Introduction: Prolonged breathing of high oxygen concentration leads to hyperoxic acute lung injury. Neonatal Respiratory diseases usually require increased supplement of high oxygen concentrations, so neonates are more susceptible to hyperoxic acute lung injury. The aim of this work was to investigate the protective role of caffeine versus N-acetylcysteine against hyperoxic acute lung injury in neonatal rats. Materials and Methods: 32 albino rats aged seven days were used in this experiment. The pups were divided into four groups; 1) Control or normoxic group; rats placed in normoxic chamber where fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO 2 ) was 0.21, 2) Hyperoxic group; rats were placed in hyperoxic chamber (FiO 2 >0.8) using an oxygen flow of 1.5 Litre/min, 3) Hyperoxia˗CAF group; rats exposed to hyperoxia and received a single intra-peritoneal injection of 20 mg/kg caffeine just prior to exposure, and 4) Hyperoxia˗NAC group; rats exposed to hyperoxia and received a single intra-peritoneal injection of 150 mg/kg N-acetylcysteine just prior to exposure. 48 hours after exposure, lung specimens were processed for histological and immunohistochemical study using caspase-3, cluster of differentiation-68-antibody (CD68) and interleukin-1-beta (IL-1β). Results: Neonatal hyperoxia led to severe impairment in lung architecture, with a highly significant increase in alveolar macrophages. Also, caspase and IL-1β immune-reaction were increased significantly as compared to control group. Caffeine could improve the histolopathological picture of hyperoxic acute lung injury, and also could decrease alveolar macrophage count and IL-1β immune-reaction better than N-acetylcysteine. Conclusion: Caffeine is more effective than N-acetylcysteine in prophylaxis against hyperoxic acute lung injury in neonates.

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