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Age-related macular degeneration AMD is one of the leading causes of blindness in the elderly population. An advanced form of AMD known as neovascular AMD (nAMD) is implicated as the main attributor of visual loss among these patients. The hallmark feature of nAMD is the presence of neovascular structures known as choroidal neovascular membranes (CNVs), along with fluid exudation, hemorrhages, and subretinal fibrosis. These pathological changes eventually result in anatomical and visual loss. A type of proangiogenic factor known as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been known to mediate the pathological process behind nAMD. Therefore, therapy has transitioned over the years from laser therapy that ablates the lesions to using Anti-VEGF to target the pathology directly. In this work, we provide an overview of current and emerging therapies for the treatment of nAMD. Currently approved Anti-VEGF agents include ranibizumab, aflibercept, and brolucizumab. Bevacizumab, also an Anti-VEGF agent, is used to manage nAMD even though this is an off-label use. While Anti-VEGF agents have provided a favorable prognosis for nAMD, they are associated with a substantial financial burden for patients and the healthcare system, due to their high cost as well as the need for frequent repeat treatments and visits. Emerging therapies and studies aim to extend the intervals between required treatments and introduce new treatment modalities that would improve patients’ compliance and provide superior results.

A multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) derived from 11 founder lines in faba bean was used in this study to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for frost tolerance traits using the association mapping method with 156 SNP markers. This MAGIC population consists of a set of 189 genotypes from the Göttingen Winter Bean Population. The association panel was tested in two different experiments, i.e. a frost and a hardening experiment. Six morphological traits, leaf fatty acid composition, relative water content in shoots were scored in this study. The genotypes presented a large genetic variation for all traits that were highly heritable after frost and after hardening. High phenotypic significant correlations were established between traits. The principal coordinates analysis resulted in no clear structure in the current population. Association mapping was performed using a general linear model and mixed linear model with kinship. A False discovery rate of 0.20 (and 0.05) was used to test the significance of marker-trait association. As a result, many putative QTLs for 13 morphological and physiological traits were detected using both models. The results reveal that QTL mapping by association analysis is a powerful method of detecting the alleles associated with frost tolerance in the winter faba bean which can be used in accelerating breeding programs.

Visual object tracking is a critical problem in the field of computer vision. The visual object tracker methods can be divided into Correlation Filters (CF) and non-correlation filters trackers. The main advantage of CF-based trackers is that they have an accepted real-time tracking response. In this article, we will focus on CF-based trackers, due to their key role in online applications such as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), through two contributions. In the first contribution, we proposed a set of new video sequences to address two uncovered issues of the existing standard datasets. The first issue is to create two video sequence that is difficult to be tracked by a human being for the movement of the Amoeba under the microscope; these two proposed video sequences include a new feature that combined background clutter and occlusion features in a unique way; we called it hard-to-follow-by-human . The second issue is to increase the difficulty of the existing sequences by increasing the displacement of the tracked object. Then, we proposed a thorough, practical evaluation of eight CF-base trackers, with the top performance, on the existing sequence features such as out-of-view, background clutters, and fast motion. The evaluation utilized the well-known OTB-2013 dataset as well as the proposed video sequences. The overall assessment of the eight trackers on the standard evaluation metrics, e.g., precision and success rates, revealed that the Large Displacement Estimation of Similarity transformation (LDES) tracker is the best CF-based tracker among the trackers of comparison. On the contrary, with a deeper analysis, the results of the proposed video sequences show an average performance of the LDES tracker among the other trackers. The eight trackers failed to capture the moving objects in every frame of the proposed Amoeba movement video sequences while the same trackers managed to capture the object in almost every frame of the sequences of the standard dataset. These results outline the need to improve the CF-based object trackers to be able to process sequences with the proposed feature (i.e., hard-to-follow-by-human ).

Understanding the genomic features of livestock is essential for successful breeding programs and conservation. This information is scarce for local goat breeds in Egypt. In the current study, genomic regions with selection signatures were identified as well as runs of homozygosity (ROH), genomic inbreeding coefficients (F ROH ) and fixation index (F ST ) were detected in Egyptian Nubian, Damascus, Barki and Boer goat breeds. A total of 46,268 SNP markers and 337 animals were available for the genomic analyses. On average, 145.44, 42.02, 87.90 and 126.95 ROHs were detected per individual in the autosomal genome of the respective breeds. The mean accumulative ROH lengths ranged from 46.5 Mb in Damascus to 360 Mb in Egyptian Nubian. The short ROH segments (< 2 Mb) were most frequent in all breeds, while the longest ROH segments (> 16 Mb) were exclusively found in the Egyptian Nubian. The highest average F ROH was observed in Egyptian Nubian (~ 0.12) followed by Boer (~ 0.11), while the lowest F ROH was found in Damascus (~ 0.05) and Barki breed (~ 0.03). The estimated mean F ST was 0.14 (Egyptian Nubian and Boer), 0.077 (Egyptian Nubian and Barki), 0.075 (Egyptian Nubian and Damascus), 0.071 (Barki and Boer), 0.064 (Damascus and Boer), and 0.015 (Damascus and Barki), for each pair of breeds. Interestingly, multiple SNPs that accounted for high F ST values were observed on chromosome 6 in regions harboring ALPK1 and KCNIP4 . Genomic regions overlapping both F ST and ROH harbor genes related to immunity ( IL4R, PHF23, GABARAP, GPS2 , and CD68 ), reproduction ( SPATA2L, TNFSF12, TMEM95 , and RNF17 ), embryonic development ( TCF25 and SOX15 ) and adaptation ( MC1R, KDR , and KIT ), suggesting potential genetic adaptations to local environmental conditions. Our results contribute to the understanding of the genetic architecture of different goat breeds and may provide valuable information for effective preservation and breeding programs of local goat breeds in Egypt.

Background Improving grain yield in cereals especially in wheat is a main objective for plant breeders. One of the main constrains for improving this trait is the G × E interaction (GEI) which affects the performance of wheat genotypes in different environments. Selecting high yielding genotypes that can be used for a target set of environments is needed. Phenotypic selection can be misleading due to the environmental conditions. Incorporating information from phenotypic and genomic analyses can be useful in selecting the higher yielding genotypes for a group of environments. Results A set of 270 F 3:6 wheat genotypes in the Nebraska winter wheat breeding program was tested for grain yield in nine environments. High genetic variation for grain yield was found among the genotypes. G × E interaction was also highly significant. The highest yielding genotype differed in each environment. The correlation for grain yield among the nine environments was low (0 to 0.43). Genome-wide association study revealed 70 marker traits association (MTAs) associated with increased grain yield. The analysis of linkage disequilibrium revealed 16 genomic regions with a highly significant linkage disequilibrium (LD). The candidate parents’ genotypes for improving grain yield in a group of environments were selected based on three criteria; number of alleles associated with increased grain yield in each selected genotype, genetic distance among the selected genotypes, and number of different alleles between each two selected parents. Conclusion Although G × E interaction was present, the advances in DNA technology provided very useful tools and analyzes. Such features helped to genetically select the highest yielding genotypes that can be used to cross grain production in a group of environments.

Goats contribute significantly to the global food security and industry. They constitute a main supplier of meat and milk for large proportions of people in Egypt and worldwide. Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease that causes a significant economic loss in animal production. A case–control genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) was conducted using the infectious status of the animal as a phenotype. The does that showed abortion during the last third period of pregnancy and which were positive to both rose bengal plate and serum tube agglutination tests, were considered as cases. Otherwise, they were considered as controls. All animals were genotyped using the Illumina 65KSNP BeadChip. Additionally, the diversity and composition of vaginal and fecal microbiota in cases and controls were investigated using PCR-amplicone sequencing of the V4 region of 16S rDNA. After applying quality control criteria, 35,818 markers and 66 does were available for the GWAS test. The GWAS revealed a significantly associated SNP (P = 5.01 × 10 –7 ) located on Caprine chromosome 15 at 29 megabases. Four other markers surpassed the proposed threshold (P = 2.5 × 10 –5 ). Additionally, fourteen genomic regions accounted for more than 0.1% of the variance explained by all genome windows. Corresponding markers were located within or in close vicinity to several candidate genes, such as ARRB1 , RELT , ATG16L2 , IGSF21 , UBR4 , ULK1 , DCN, MAPB1, NAIP , CD26 , IFIH1 , NDFIP2 , DOK4 , MAF , IL2RB , USP18 , ARID5A , ZAP70 , CNTN5 , PIK3AP1 , DNTT , BLNK, and NHLRC3. These genes play important roles in the regulation of immune responses to the infections through several biological pathways. Similar vaginal bacterial community was observed in both cases and controls while the fecal bacterial composition and diversity differed between the groups (P < 0.05). Faeces from the control does showed a higher relative abundance of the phylum Bacteroidota compared to cases (P < 0.05), while the latter showed more Firmicutes, Spirochaetota, Planctomycetota, and Proteobacteria. On the genus level, the control does exhibited higher abundances of Rikenellaceae RC9 gut group and Christensenellaceae R-7 group (P < 0.05), while the infected does revealed higher Bacteroides , Alistipes , and Prevotellaceae UCG-003 (P < 0.05). This information increases our understanding of the genetics of the susceptibility to Brucella in goats and may be useful in breeding programs and selection schemes that aim at controlling the disease in livestock.

Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonotic bacterial disease. It has considerable negative consequences on the animal production industry worldwide. The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic and molecular variations in Shami goat susceptible to Brucella infection. Blood samples were collected from fifty mature Shami goats (30 Brucella -infected does and 20 non-infection). DNA was extracted and selected parts the immunity; solute carrier family 11 member 1 (SLC11A1) , toll-like receptor 1 (TLR1) , toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) , SP110 nuclear body protein (SP110) , the adenosine A3 receptor (ADORA3) , caspase activating recruitment domain 15 (CARD15) and interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) , antioxidant glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPX1) , nitric oxide synthase (NOS) , NAD(P)H dehydrogenase [quinone] 1 (NQO1) and transcription factor NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and erythritol related transketolase (TKT) , ribose 5-phosphate isomerase (RPIA) and Adenosine monophosphate deaminase (AMPD) genes were sequenced. Likewise, the levels of gene expressions were investigated. The results identified polymorphic variants between healthy and infected does. Levels of gene expression of SLC11A1 , TLR1 , TLR9 , SP110 , ADORA3 , CARD15 , IRF3 , HMOX1 , TKT , RPIA and AMPD were significantly ( P  < 0.05) up regulated in the infected compared to the non-infected ones. On the other hand, GPX1 , NOS , NQO1 and Nrf2 genes were significantly ( P  < 0.05) downregulated in the infected compared to the non-infected does. The results of serum profile indicated that there is a significant ( P  < 0.05) increase in the activities of AST, ALT, GGT, LDH, ALP as well as serum level of globulin, triglycerides, cholesterol, MDA, NO, IL-1β, TNF-α, IgM, IgG, haptoglobin and amyloid A. On the other hand, there were significant reductions in the glucose, total protein albumin, urea, calcium, inorganic phosphorus, sodium, copper, zinc, iron, TAC, GSH, SOD, GPx, IL-10 and fibrinogen in the infected compared to the non-infected does. Our results provide valuable information about the serum profile variations and putative genetic markers for Brucella infection in goats. This could be utilized in controlling goat brucellosis through selective breeding of natural resistant animals.

The dexamethasone implant (DEX) and pars plana vitrectomy (PPV) are both used to treat diabetic retinopathy. A rare complication of vitrectomy is post-operative fibrinoid syndrome (POFS). We report the incidence of POFS when PPV is combined with DEX injection in diabetic eyes. One hundred and five eyes of patients with diabetic retinopathy undergoing concurrent PPV and DEX were retrospectively analyzed. Mean BCVA improved from 1.06 logMAR to 0.78 (p=0.05) at final follow-up. Mean CST was found to have a statistically insignificant decrease from 360 ± 154 µm to 314 ± 99 µm at final visit (p=0.13). Four eyes (3.8%) developed POFS. No major surgical complications were encountered. Combining PPV with DEX is safe and effective in patients with diabetic retinopathy. Our results showed an improvement in mean BCVA and a decrease in CST. The incidence of POFS was 3.8%, which is not significantly different from previously published data in 1982.

Objective: Milk production is one of the most desirable traits in livestock. Recently, the toll-like receptor (TLR) has been identified as a candidate gene for milk traits in cows. So far, there is no information concerning the contribution of this gene in milk traits in sheep. This study was designed to investigate the TLR 4 gene polymorphisms in Barki ewes in Egypt and then correlate that with milk traits in order to identify potential single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for these traits in sheep.Methods: A part of the ovine TLR 4 gene was amplified in Barki ewes, to identify the SNPs. Consequently; Barki ewes were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism protocol. These genotypes were correlated with milk traits, which were the daily milk yield (DMY), protein percentage (PP), fat percentage (FP), lactose percentage, and total solid percentage (TSP).Results: Age and parity of the ewe had a significant effect (p<0.05 or p<0.01) on DMY, FP, and TSP. The direct sequencing identified a missense mutation located in the coding sequence of the gene (rs592076818; c.1710C>A) and was predicted to change the amino acid sequence of the resulted protein (p.Asn570Lys). The association analyses suggested a significant effect (p<0.05) of the TLR genotype on the FP and PP, while the DMY tended to be influenced as well (p = 0.07). Interestingly, the presence of the G allele tended to increase the DMY (+40.5 g/d) and significantly (p<0.05 or p<0.01) decreased the FP (–1.11%), PP (–1.21%), and TSP (–7.98%).Conclusion: The results of this study suggested the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) as a candidate gene to improve milk traits in sheep worldwide, which will enhance the ability to understand the genetic architecture of genes underlying SNPs that affect such traits.